


The Future Holds A Split In Roads (Where You Gonna Go?)

by fvandomtrvsh, WardenRoot



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Most of the legends make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2019-03-09
Packaged: 2019-08-06 17:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 37,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16391654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fvandomtrvsh/pseuds/fvandomtrvsh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WardenRoot/pseuds/WardenRoot
Summary: Ava accidentally tells her parents she has a girlfriend one day. She agrees to take said girlfriend to meet the parents, only problem being said girlfriend doesn't exist. Luckily for her, her roommate and possible crush offers to play the part of her girlfriend.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Ring by Heirsound

Ava Sharpe loves her family, she really does, but she can only handle them for a few hours at a time and on that day her limit had already been reached. That is why she had maybe had one beer too many while listening to her mother asking her sister some unnecessary questions about her new place. 

 “Your sister can help you with that, right Ava?” her mother said pointedly. 

 “What?”

 “You can help your sister to move, she just said Joe might have to work. You can help her and when it's you moving she’ll do the same!” 

Thankfully Ava’s twin cut their mother off saying she already had people to help and changed the subject. It had been like this since Ava set foot in her parents' house, her mother, and sometimes her father, were making comments about how good it was that her sister had a boyfriend and that she was getting serious with him, and through all of that they would throw little jabs at Ava about her being single and focusing so much on studying. 

 Ava was doing her best to ignore it, she knew deep down that they just didn't want her to be alone after they died but honestly it was getting on her nerves. 

 “You know Ava,” her father said, catching her attention “I think one of my coworkers’ daughter is a lesbian, I could get her number for you.”

 With that something snapped inside her, it was like they didn't  think she could find a date by herself which she totally could if she wanted to. Ava refused to be set up, blind dates were just too unpredictable for her tastes, especially when it was a set up orchestrated by her parents. 

“That won't be necessary!” she said quickly. 

“You should at least give her a chance, honey,” her mother said. 

Ava finished her beer in one go, trying to figure out a way to get out of this conversation. 

“I can't… Because I’m… Already dating  someone.” 

Ava cursed herself internally as soon as the words left her mouth. She was very much not dating anyone. Her mother’s excited expression after the initial shock was just a confirmation that this was  _ a mistake.  _ Ava dodged, barely, all the questions about her special someone by telling them she was tired and needed to go home and promising that she would give them more details on her girlfriend later. 

 

When Ava finally entered her dorm room Sara Lance, formerly known as  _ pain in my ass _ on her phone and currently  _ might be into _ , was lying on her bed wearing a sports bra and shorts looking very concentrated on something on her phone. Ava took a few minutes to realize she was standing at the door staring at her roommate’s abs for way longer than she should have. 

“Hey Aves, how was dinner with the Sharpes?” Sara asked when she noticed Ava.

Ava just fell face down on her own bed, groaning.

“That bad, huh?” Sara put her phone down, getting out of the bed with a jump and headed to the corner of their room. She rummaged through some stuff, a bottle of whiskey appearing in her hands seconds later. “Wanna talk about it?”

Ava looked up to see Sara’s gentle smile and felt a flutter in her stomach, Sara was just too damn pretty sometimes. That train of thought was dangerous and evidence enough that she should  _ not _ drink anymore but there were not many people who could refuse Sara Lance’s smile. 

Sara pushed Ava a little to the side so she could settle in besides her and opened the bottle of whiskey. She took a swig right out of the bottle and normally Ava would at least try to find cups but she was too tired to care. They kept passing the bottle around in silence for a few moments before Sara started to talk about how this dude from her gym wanted to bet he could kick her ass in a fight and Ava chuckled at the thought, Sara had been doing all kinds of martial arts since she was a kid and Ava had seen her punch a few guys since they had met and, well, if she were to bet her money would definitely be on Sara. 

“I really wanted to punch him but one of the gym employees told him off for trying to start a fight.”

“They must have felt bad for the guy, men aren't very happy to have their asses kicked by small blonde women like you,” Ava said distracted by Sara’s hair that was tickling her shoulders. 

“I’m not small,” Sara protested offended, taking the bottle out of Ava’s hands. 

They kept talking about random things, getting comfortably buzzed. After a while Sara put the bottle of whiskey away noticing how her roommate seemed to be entering the very drunk stage. 

“I made a big mistake today,” Ava said suddenly. 

Sara frowned worriedly, waiting for her to explain. 

“I told my parents I was dating someone, but I’m not. I couldn't be more single if I tried,” she snorted. 

“Why would you even say that?”

“They kept talking about how good it was that Allie has a boyfriend and how cute they are or something.” Ava rested her head against the headboard tiredly. “My dad wanted to set me up with someone and I panicked and said I had a girlfriend.”

Sara hid her amused smile behind her hair, gently bumping their shoulders. 

“Hey, that's not so bad, just tell them it didn't work out for you guys and they’ll probably leave you alone for a while after ‘the break up’.”

Ava scratched her forehead a little embarrassed. 

“I can't, I told them I would take my  _ fake  _ girlfriend to meet them. It's going to be pretty suspicious if we just  _ happen _ to break up before that,” she sighed. “Like I said, big mistake.”

“I can be your girlfriend,” Sara shrugged. “Problem solved.”

“Wha…” Ava started to say trying to stand up straight. Her drunken brain not registering how close she was to the edge of the bed made her slip and fall on her ass. She blinked confusedly at Sara, barely registering the pain. “What?”

“Ava! Are you okay?” Sara asked looking half amused and half concerned. 

Ava nodded but didn't make any move to get off the floor. 

“I’m fine, just a little drunker than I thought. You were saying…?”

Sara shrugged, lying back down when she was satisfied her roommate was okay. 

“I can be your girlfriend, go meet your family, charm them a little, anytime they ask you just say we are doing fine or something and then after a while we break up horribly and you're maybe scarred for life so they leave you alone.”

“You would do that?” Ava asked slowly climbing back into her bed. “I thought you were dating that guy John.”

“Nah, he’s just a friend.” Sara smiled gently.  “Of course I would, that's what friends are for, right?”

Ava felt that flutter in her stomach again, getting momentarily distracted by the way Sara’s eyes shined with the moonlight coming through the window. 

“Yes, of course.” If her voice sounded a little rough she chose to ignore it. “Uh, does John like guys?”

“What?” Sara laughed a little at the random question. 

“Nothing,  just… a friend that has a big crush on him.”

“Oh that dork with the glasses that hangs around you? Barry?”

“It’s Gary, but yes. He has been bugging me to ask you for John’s number but I thought you were together so it wouldn't be appropriate.”

Sara smiled at how Ava’s words had started to slur,  her eyes almost closing and decided that was enough talk for the day. 

“Come one Aves, let’s get your drunk ass to bed.”  
  
  


Ava woke up the next morning to a mild headache and the faint smell of coffee,  all she wanted was to go back to sleep but she could  _ feel _ it was late and she couldn't  bring herself to spend the day in bed. 

“Morning.” 

Ava blinked trying to clear sleep from her eyes, seeing Sara holding out a cup of coffee in front of her face.

“I’ve got donuts too.”

Ava smiled in thanks accepting the hot beverage and taking a grateful sip. 

“Feeling better?” Sara asked, taking a big bite of a donut.  “Your sister has been blowing up your phone with messages about meeting your new girl. I told her you would tell her everything about me when you woke up.”

Ava choked on her coffee at that, coughing hard for the next few seconds. 

“What?” she asked,  voice raspy. “You talked to my sister?”

“Just a text Aves, relax.”

Ava grabbed her phone and scrolled through her messages seeing six different  texts from her sister asking different questions about her new girlfriend. She read Sara’s reply with her heart hammering in her chest, for a few moments she had forgotten everything about the night before. 

“Ava? Sorry, I was just trying to let you sleep in.”

With a start Ava snapped her attention back to her roommate. 

“It's fine, I just…” She sighed. “ I just forgot about that for a second. And you don't have to do anything I’ll deal with it.”

“I don't mind,  it's not like you have another option.” Sara grinned suddenly.  “Unless you want to put a wig on Gary and make him pretend he's your girlfriend.”

Ava’s grimace at the thought made Sara chuckle. Sara finished her coffee and threw her cup in the trash’s general direction. 

“I’m trying to help you out here, work with me Ava!”

Ava bit her lip, quickly trying to think about her options. Telling her parents the truth was just out of the question, she would sound crazy if she tried, trying to come up with a believable story for a ‘sudden break  up’ didn't feel right either. Not that having Sara be her fake girlfriend did, there were so many possibilities for what could go wrong that it made her headache worse, still it did feel like her best option. If having to lie to your family because you made a stupid mistake by pretending to be dating the girl you might be into for real could be considered the best option. 

“If we're doing this we’ll need to come up with some ground rules and a backstory. We’ll need to come up with detailed dates we supposedly went on,” Ava said already trying to come up with solutions for several possible scenarios. 

“Wow! Slow down there Sharpe, we don't have to decide everything at once. At least finish breakfast first.” Sara pushed the box of half eaten donuts towards Ava. “About the backstory, I asked you out because i thought you were hot and you couldn't resist my charms, the end.”

Ava rolled her eyes, chewing on a donut slowly. 

“We need a  _ believable  _ story. I would never fall for the dumb lines you use.”

“Oh I’m pretty sure you would.”

Sara smirked confidently and Ava cursed her stupid body for reacting so easily. She rolled her eyes to cover up the effect Sara had on her, getting up to grab a napkin as an excuse to avoid looking at Sara. 

They spent the rest of the morning coming up with ideas that would fit them and sell them as a couple, Sara amused herself more than she should throwing ridiculous ideas around just to get Ava worked up but in the end they settled on a simple story. 

“Sooo,” Sara said when they sat down just outside their dorm to have lunch. “Are we going to practice kissing?”

Ava wondered if Sara said these things right the exact moment she drank something just to watch her choke.  She wiped the juice that was running down her chin trying her best to look nonchalant. 

“What was that?”

“I was just wondering if we need to practice some PDA since you like to be prepared,” Sara said with a shrug, taking a big bite of her sandwich. 

Ava weighed the offer on her mind, surprised she was even considering this. On one hand Sara was right, she did like to be prepared, on the other she hadn't even considered that there would be any need for kissing and just the thought of kissing  Sara Lance sent a jumble of emotions through her that she wasn't sure she wanted to sort through. 

“I don't think that will be necessary,” she said quietly. 

“You sure?  I really don't mind.” Sara laid back against her seat. “I’m just trying  to help you out, it will be weird if we’re all awkward around each other when we are trying to make them believe we're sleeping together.”

Ava quickly shoved some food  into her mouth to prevent any noise to come out at Sara’s last sentence. She felt like she should be more opposed to the idea but she couldn't really argue with that logic. 

“Maybe we could…” she started to say when Sara shifted her attention, very rudely, to her phone. 

“Oh, I have an idea,” she said looking  up at Ava with a mischievous smile. Ava groaned internally already dreading and a little excited about whatever it was going to come out of Sara’s mouth. “Zari just texted asking to hang out later,  we should go and do a practice run!”

“A what?”

“A practice run! We tell them we're dating  and act all couple-y and see if they buy it, if they don't we just say it was a joke or a bet or whatever.” Sara smiled proud of her plan. 

Ava’s brain seemed  to have focused only on the part where they would be acting like a couple  _ in public, in front of friends  _ and she was trying not to panic. That wasn't really part of her plan, well not that she had a real plan when she blurted out that she was dating someone, but since Sara had volunteered to be her fake girlfriend she had focused on introducing her to her parents and be done with it. 

“We don't have to though, I just thought it would be funny,” Sara said hurriedly when Ava stayed silent. “I’m down to whatever you want, that's all.”

“No, uh, that might be a good idea.” Ava really had no idea where this boldness was coming from but she just ran with it. “You're right, we can't act like we're not used to being in each other's personal space. Especially in front of my sister, she's too observant.”

“Of course I’m right!” Sara grinned. “So how about those kissing lessons?”

“Lessons? I thought you already knew how to kiss, Lance.”

“Of course I do, I would be taking the role of teacher in this scenario.”

Ava rolled her eyes at the stupid smirk on Sara’s face, briefly wondering what it would be like to wipe it off with a kiss. 

“You wish!” She stood up gathering her trash to throw away. “I don't think any of us need any kissing practice, I however, need to go finish an essay. Let me know when we need to go meet your friends.”

Ava didn't wait for Sara’s response walking quickly back to their room. The truth was that all this talk of dating and kisses was affecting her in ways she wasn't used to, nor was she looking forward to sort them out, so getting ahead on her studies and away from Sara for a while felt like a good idea. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were going to wait till we had written more to post this but we feel like we need some fluff/cute scenes after all the bs happening in the world. Hope you enjoy! Next ch should take a while though.

They were the last ones to arrive at the diner, Ava noticed, seeing Sara’s friends through the window. The Waverider was a very weird sci fi looking diner close to the university, Sara and her friends seemed to be there almost every day, Ava wasn't sure why they loved it so much. 

Ava glanced at the people inside the diner again feeling self conscious. Everyone was dressed down, Sara had a black hoodie and jeans on and she was pretty sure Nate was wearing a cartoon shirt, while Ava had one of her favorite black button up shirts. She had been slightly nervous when getting ready and maybe she had panicked a little and just chose something she was used to. But now seeing how dressed up she looked around everyone else it was hard not to feel a sudden urge to turn back and forget about all of this. 

Ava’s thoughts were interrupted abruptly when Sara took her hand, lacing their fingers together. Ava looked at her startled and Sara rolled her eyes. 

“We're supposed to be a couple, remember?”

“Right,” Ava said, nodding to herself. 

Sara squeezed her hand gently and smiled. “Come on, let's go make them all jealous that we're the hottest couple around.”

As Sara started to pull her inside the Waverider Ava felt her nerves calm down slightly, Sara always acted so confident it was hard not to follow her lead. The warmth of her hand in hers wasn't bad either. 

“Ah, finally. I thought you had ditched us,” Zari said loudly as soon as she noticed Sara. 

“I would never!” Sara said dramatically just as loud. 

Sara let go of her hand to greet her friends, apparently she just  _ had _ to hug Jax and lift him off the floor every time they met, and Ava immediately missed it. She scolded herself mentally before sitting next to Mick, who nodded at her before taking a sip of his beer. She started to make small talk with Amaya while Sara and Jax were talking animatedly besides them. 

When Sara finally sat down she did so by sitting as close to Ava as she could without sitting in her lap and Ava almost pushed her away, they had plenty of space to sit without touching, before Sara rested a hand behind her shoulders casually and she remembered they were supposed  _ to be dating _ . Ava looked down at the table trying to force her embarrassment away, she needed to get used to this closeness quickly if they wanted to fool anyone. 

“Hey Aves, what you having?” Sara asked, calling for the waitress to get their order. 

Ava just said the first thing she thought, feeling a little weird having Sara ordering for her like that. Their food arrived quickly and Ava was just glad Sara knew her enough to ask for no mayo on her burger as she had completely forgotten to check for that when choosing her food. She mentally cursed herself again for being so weird about everything, these were just Sara’s friends, she knew them, she liked them, not that she admitted that easily, she didn't need to be so awkward. Sara’s sudden hand on her thigh and the butterflies that followed made Ava look up quickly to find Sara’s piercing blue eyes closer than she expected. Sara moved closer and Ava had a brief moment of panic thinking she was going to kiss her before realizing Sara was just trying to whisper something in her ear. Ava forced herself to breath normally, avoiding everyone's eyes as Sara’s warm breath sent shivers through her spine. 

“Are you okay? Do you want to call this off?” Sara’s gentle worry only made the butterflies in her stomach get worse. “We don't have to do anything.”

A small part of her wanted to agree and just carry on with the night as any other hanging with friends but a bigger part just wanted Sara to keep sitting this close to her, to keep smiling with a hint of mischief like they had a secret that was just theirs. There was also the fact that her parents wouldn't leave her alone until she showed them she had a girlfriend and didn't need any blind date or whatever it was that they wanted her to do. 

“No, It’s fine,” she smiled at Sara, hoping she wouldn't notice how just a whisper from her had affected Ava. 

Sara smiled back, squeezing her thigh gently before turning her attention to Ray who was talking animatedly about an invention he was working on. She kept her hand on Ava and even leaned a little more into her. Ava wrapped an arm around Sara’s shoulder, pulling her fully into her body. Ava felt like her skin was on fire where Sara's side was pressed against her, she took a deep breath and it was filled with the smell of Sara's shampoo. Ava forced herself to pay attention to Zari and Amaya that were talking between themselves. Mick was technically in the conversation but he would mostly just grunt in agreement once in a while. 

“Hey Ava, do you have any classes with Professor Darhk?” Zari asked. 

“Yes, unfortunately.”

“Did he hit on you too?”

Ava frowned at the unexpected question, she felt Sara moving a little against her and realized everyone seemed to be paying attention to their conversation. 

“No, but then I make sure to never be alone with him,” Ava answered trying to think back on her interactions with Professor Darhk. “I have a feeling he’s bad news, and it seems I’m right if you're asking me that.”

Everyone started to talk over each other about how bad Professor Darhk was, all of them had a different story to tell about the man and Ava was just happy she had followed her instincts and stayed away from him. 

“You know, one of these days I’m gonna hack his computer…” Zari started to say but was interrupted by Amaya rolling her eyes fondly.

“No hacking, you know you can't be expelled again.”

Zari cursed under her breath and Ava deduced they had had this conversation more than once. 

“Don't worry Z, we’ll get him one day,” Sara said reassuringly. “Anyway, I think it's dessert time.”

“Yes,” Mick agreed, putting his bottle on the table with more force than necessary. 

Sara got some ice cream for herself and Ava found herself watching her friend eat, only half aware of the conversation going on around her. 

“You should've just ordered some for yourself, you know,” Sara said with a grin. Ava teared her gaze away from Sara’s lips trying not to blush. “Here.” Sara offered a spoonful of her ice cream to Ava, a soft smile on her face and Ava found herself accepting it before she could even process what was happening, her only thought being that the spoon had just been in Sara’s mouth and now it was in hers.

The conversation continued around them, Sara joined in once in a while with a smart ass remark or a laugh but she kept sharing her ice cream with Ava, feeding it to her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Ava wanted to hate her for it, she was obviously just doing that for show, they wanted their friends to think they were a couple after all, but feeding ice cream to each other was just excessive, Ava had working hands and could feed herself but the truth was that there was something intimate about it that made Ava feel warm inside. 

When they were done with the ice cream, Sara, Amaya, and Zari excused themselves to go use the bathroom and Ava had to grip her seat to keep her expression in check when Sara pressed a kiss to her cheek before getting up. Mick raised an eyebrow at her but didn't say anything going back to his food. Ava closed her hand around  her phone wondering if she should text Gary and just tell him everything, she couldn't really talk to Sara about her crush on her and Gary was always happy to listen. 

She didn't have a chance to even take her phone out of her pocket since Zari practically ran back to their table, a smug smile on her face. 

“Ray, Nate, you guys need to pay me and Jax up!” she said, resting her hands on the table right beside the two men. 

“For what?” Nate asked confused. 

Amaya appeared behind Zari, a gentle hand resting on the other woman’s back. She smiled warmly at Ava. 

“Sara and Ava are dating.”

Ava’s eyes widened in surprise and she looked at Sara with a panicked expression. Sara just chuckled, sitting back down right beside Ava and taking her hand. 

“Sorry babe, Zari cornered me in the bathroom.” She squeezed Ava’s hand reassuringly. “What's this paying up though?”

“Zari and Jax bet Pretty and Haircut that you and Hotcakes would get together before the end of the year,” Mick explained just as Ray got his wallet. 

“You guys did  _ what? _ ” Sara asked glaring at her friends. 

Ava was too busy trying to keep her expression as blank as possible and failing, she could feel her cheeks getting warm and she was acutely aware of Sara’s hands on hers. She frowned for a second wondering why their friends would even think to bet on something like that but Sara letting go of her hand distracted her from that train of thought. 

“It’s only fair you pay for our food, right babe?” Sara asked grinning. 

“Yes.” Ava only hesitated for a second before answering, not used to the pet name. The group didn't complain much about paying for their meal, Sara’s glare was enough of a threat apparently. 

“So, how did this start?” Amaya asked. 

“And why are we only hearing about this now?” Zari added.

Sara smirked, relaxing against Ava's side, and Ava put an arm around her shoulders, feeling very awkward now that everyone was watching them. Her heart was beating faster than she would've liked and she just hoped Sara couldn't hear it. 

“Because I don't kiss and tell,” Sara said. 

Ava could practically see how much fun Sara seemed to be having with all this, she tried to follow her example and relax. 

“Yeah, right,” Jax snorted. 

Sara reached across the table to punch the boy and Ava couldn't hold a small smile at their antics. 

“There's not much to tell,” she said not wanting to seem like they were avoiding the question. “I realized I was possibly crushing on Sara…”

“Possibly!” Sara laughed interrupting Ava. “I think I saw you drooling once while watching my workout routine.”

“I never did that!” Ava quickly protested, blushing fiercely. 

“Sure you didn't!” Sara smirked, resting her hand back on Ava’s thigh. “But yeah, I had been wondering for a while if Ava was crushing on me and then one day after a few drinks we ended up making out.”

Sara talked so easily Ava hated her a little, she usually prided herself on not panicking but this whole fake dating was proving to be a lot more harder for her than she expected. 

“Why does that not surprise me?” Amaya rolled her eyes, a fond smile playing on her lips. 

“You better not be those annoying couples that kiss all the time,” Zari said grumpily. 

“Excuse you Zari, I’m a free woman and I’ll kiss my girlfriend whenever I feel like it.” To prove her point Sara pulled Ava’s face to her and pressed a quick, hard kiss to her lips. 

The kiss was so fast Ava didn't even have the time to kiss back, which in a way was a relief because her brain wasn't being much help. She was _ not _ expecting Sara to kiss her, they had talked about kissing but hadn't really decided on anything. She could appreciate Sara’s commitment and her urge to annoy Zari but Ava wasn't sure she could deal with this  _ fake _ relationship if there was kissing involved. 

_ Disgusting.” _ Zari complained making a face. 

“They really bought it!” Sara said sitting on her bed when they arrived at their room. “You did a pretty good job telling them about your crush.”

“Yes, so did you,” Ava said quickly, trying not to think about how she did a good job because it wasn't a lie. “Um, thank you. For doing this.”

“Hey, that's what friends are for,” Sara grinned and Ava’s thoughts went immediately to the kiss. 

She excused herself and went to the bathroom to get ready for bed and to get away from Sara before she gave anything away. When she came back into the room Sara was lying down on her bed wearing her favorite pajama shorts and looking at her phone. Ava silently made her way to her bed praying to the gods she didn't believe in that her roommate would go to sleep without them having to talk anymore about the events of the day. 

“Hey Aves,” Sara called almost hesitantly a few minutes later. “Are we okay?”

Ava cursed mentally but turned to look at her friend, confused at the question. 

“Yes, of course! Why wouldn't we be?”

“Dunno, I was just wondering if I went too far earlier. With the kiss and the teasing.”

“Oh.” Ava thought back on the day, she had been surprised but it wasn't  like she  _ didn't  _ want to be kissed. Not that she could say that to Sara without revealing her stupid crush on her. “No, it was good, I mean fine. That's how you act around your friends and you shouldn't change that because of me and this whole fake dating thing. Besides if we were a real couple people would expect us to kiss, right?”

“Right.” Sara smiled. “Goodnight, girlfriend.”

Ava just knew she was going to regret her stupid mouth forever when it came to this whole fake girlfriend situation a billion times before it was over but she couldn't help the small smile and the flutter in her stomach hearing Sara say that. 

“Goodnight.”   
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait but we finally managed to get an update for you guys! Happy holigays!

Ava was sitting at her desk studying for one of her classes while Sara was lying comfortably on Ava’s bed using her laptop. The room was mostly silent with only Sara’s occasional typing, so when her phone started to ring loudly it was no surprise both women were startled. Ava made a big line cutting through her page of study notes with the sudden noise. She watched as Sara smiled and answered the phone, putting it on speaker so she could keep her hands free. 

“Hey sis!” she greeted cheerfully.

_ "Why didn't you tell me you were dating Ava?! I had to find out through Instagram! What the hell Sara!” _

Sara looked at Ava with a questioning look and Ava could only shrug helplessly, she had no idea what Laurel was talking about. 

“What do you mean Instagram? I didn't post anything.”

_"Zari_ _did, you guys were all cuddly at some diner. She tagged you!”_ Ava grabbed her own phone, opening the app to see that Zari had indeed posted a pic of them talking about the bet and how disgusting they were.  _ “I told mom and dad because I was with them when I saw the pic and they are thrilled, mom said you guys better come down to visit soon.” _

“Ah, yeah. Sorry I didn't tell you,” Sara said almost a little nervously. “We were trying to keep things quiet for a while. Listen, I gotta go but I’ll call you back later! Bye!”

Ava ran a hand through her hair trying to make sense of what had just happened, watching Sara end the call and throw her phone on the bed like it had offended her. 

“I’m sorry,” Ava said after a few moments. “I shouldn't have dragged you into my mess.”

Sara shook her head. “Nah, this isn't your fault Ava. It's my own damn fault for not thinking something like this would happen.” She shrugged and smiled a little.  “Guess we’ll just have to fool two sets of parents and sisters instead of one, right?”

“You could just tell your parents the truth, It's not like they know me anyway.” Ava stood up, still feeling guilty. “You don't have to lie to your parents because of me.”

Sara’s phone vibrated a couple of times and she watched it silently for a second before picking it up. Ava watched as she read whatever it was, Sara’s blank expression making it very difficult to get any idea of its contents. 

“I don't think I can tell them the truth,” Sara said quietly. 

“Why?”

“My dad just said he is happy I’m finally dating someone and he used emojis. My dad never uses emojis!” Ava chuckled but Sara shook her head. “I’m serious, my mom has also sent me a text and they just sound so happy I don't want to take this away from them. Unless I have to, I mean the plan was just to go visit  _ your _ parents.”

Ava shook her head. “Sara, I’m not gonna fake break up with just because you want me to meet your parents.”

Sara rolled her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips. “You say that because you haven't met them yet.”

“Well,  you haven't met mine either and you agreed to help me. This is still just friends helping each other out.” Ava wondered what her problem was that she kept digging this hole she had gotten herself into. 

“Good thing I took those drama classes if we're going to do all this acting.” Sara flopped back down on the bed.  “I’m going to need some help when telling Laurel stuff because she's like a human lie detector, not to mention my police detective dad.”

“We have time to get our stories straight,” Ava said with a small sigh.  “I do have to finish my studies now though.” Ava walked back to her desk trying to get her mind back in her study mode. 

“Ava! Nothing I do is straight,” Sara yelled after her, chuckling when Ava made a show of rolling her eyes. 

  
  
Gary poked Ava’s arm to get her attention, already getting ready for the glare his friend would probably throw his way. To his surprise it never came, Ava just looked at him slightly curious. 

“Sorry, you just looked worried or something,” he said watching her face carefully. “Actually, you've been acting weirdly for a while, is everything okay?”

Ava sighed at the concerned frown on Gary’s face, she didn't mean to worry him but it was probably best if she talked about the whole situation with Sara with someone and who better than her best friend? “I’m gonna tell you but you have to hold back your reactions until I finish.” She raised an eyebrow at him knowing very well that her love life was one of his favorite subjects.

“Promise!” Gary beamed excitedly, adjusting his position on the bench so he could pay even closer attention to his friend. 

Ava told him everything about the dinner with her parents that lead to her fake dating Sara Lance and her mixed feelings about it all. To his credit Gary managed to contain his reactions to exaggerated facial expressions but kept his mouth shut.

“My mom called last night and we set the date for them to meet my “girlfriend” and I can't stop thinking about all the ways this could go wrong,” Ava finished with a sigh. 

“Wow!” Gary said after a few seconds. “I can't believe you're dating Sara Lance.”

“Gary! I’m not dating her! We’re… Fake dating.”

“Have you kissed her yet?” Gary asked, his eyes shining with excitement. 

“God, I shouldn't have told you!” Ava rolled her eyes. “And no, we're not  _ dating _ . Anyway, that's why I’m a little… Off.”

“Hey, if there's anyone who can do it is you!” Gary smiled reassuring. “You just have to make small talk and throw in some romantic things! And maybe hold hands and hug sometimes.”

“Yeah, we have been doing that.” Ava sighed. “I shouldn't be so worried, really, my parents are just happy I’m finally dating.”

“See, it will be fine!”

Ava’s phone chimed and she unlocked it to find a text from Sara. “Sara invited me to go some kind of party with her friends. I don't think I’m going, though.”

“Why not?! It will probably help you relax if you have a few drinks,” Gary said, immediately regretting it when Ava glared. “Just a thought! I can also come, if you want? I don't have anything to do tonight.”

“I don't know if Constantine will be there.”

Gary blushed and awkwardly fixed his glasses. “I didn't think he would! That's not… That's not why I…” He trailed off when he saw Ava’s teasing smile. “Shut up!”

  
  
When they got to Ray’s house the party had already started from the looks of it. Everyone had some kind of drink in their hands and were talking animatedly. A few boxes of pizza where on a table to their right and Mick was stuffing his face with food. He was the first to notice Ava and Gary standing there awkwardly and gave them a nod, raising his bottle of beer as a form of greeting. That seemed to catch Sara’s attention as she walked with quick steps towards them holding drinks. 

“Hey!” Sara smiled in greeting. Ava immediately noticed she was wearing leather pants and a white tank top that showed her abs when she moved. “You brought your nerd friend! Here you two gotta catch up.” She pushed the drinks into their hands and Ava was really glad to have alcohol to get her through this night. 

Ava could see Gary sipping his drink and grimacing beside her and was suddenly really glad he was tagging along. 

“There's some food over there if you're hungry, Amaya keeps ordering food so we won't drink on an empty stomach,” Sara said. “Of course Mick is mostly eating everything by himself.”

Ava smiled, glancing at the tall man who hadn't moved from his position at the table. They were silent for a few moments, watching the others drinking and talking. 

“Everyone come play beer pong!” Nate yelled. 

“I’ll play, but we should make it  _ fear pong _ instead,” Zari said smirking. 

“What's that?” Ray asked with a confused frown. 

“It's just like beer pong but instead of just drinking you have to do a dare. If you choose not to do the dare you can drink, simple right?” Zari explained. “Come on losers, let’s play!”

She busied herself with getting the table ready for the game and Ava watched with dread, she just knew they weren't going to let her sit this one out.

“I've never played beer pong,” Gary said beside her, watching Nate spill most of the beer on the table instead of the cups. 

“It's your lucky day then glasses,” Mick said, startling them with his surprisingly silent approach.  “I’m great at it and it looks like you're my partner.”

Gary threw a panicked look in Ava’s direction when the taller man slapped his back and pulled him closer to the table but she just shrugged, not seeing how she could help him. 

“Come on,” Sara said, “let's go help Nate before he ruins the game before it starts.”

The first game had Amaya and Zari playing against Ray and Nate, the boys losing horribly. One of the dares was to dump ice into each other's pants and they were both dripping all around by the end of it. 

“All right, who's next?” Zari said excited after the win. “I've got some great dares in mind!”

Mick pulled a terrified Gary to the table, looking as relaxed as ever. “Relax glasses, I've got this.”

Their match technically ended on a tie. Mick _ was _ good at it, but after having to eat pizza without his hand, having Zari draw a giant dick on his face, and having to switch clothes with Mick, Gary wasn't up for another match. Mick seemed satisfied with the result and just went back to his beer and food. 

“Guess it’s our turn now,” Sara said taking the boy's place at the table. “All right Tomaz, get ready to lose.”

On the one hand Ava’s competitive side wanted to win, on the other she was really wary of what kind of dares Zari would come up with, she wasn't used to being embarrassed in front of people like this. 

“We got this,” Sara said, lightly bumping their shoulders together. She smiled and threw the first ball, landing it perfectly into the cup. “See?”

It was hard not to smile back when Sara looked like that but Ava was still anxious. Sara dared Zari and Amaya to send an “accidental” sext to someone. They did and Ava groaned internally just knowing that their dare would be something worse. 

Amaya managed to get the ball into the cup easily enough and Zari's smile was full of mischief while she thought of a dare. 

“Ask them why they're fighting!” Nate suggested from his place on the floor where he was sitting wrapped in a towel and sipping a drink. 

“That's not a dare, Nate,” Amaya said. 

“No one is fighting.” Sara frowned in confusion. 

“Then why you haven't kissed or hugged or anything?” Nate’s words were slightly slurred but loud enough that everyone was able to understand. 

Ava looked down at the cups in front of her to hide the blush she could feel coming. She hadn't realized they weren't acting couple-y enough and she didn't know how to respond to being called out like that. 

“Since when are you paying attention to how much I kiss my girlfriend?” Sara asked. “You guys better not have another bet going on.”

“It's nothing like that Sara,” Amaya said reassuringly. 

“We’re just not used to seeing you shy away from PDA, it's all,” Zari added. 

“I’m not shying away from anything, you guys are reading too much into this.” Sara shook her head. “We are  _ fine,  _ right babe?”

Ava nodded. “There's no fight.”

Zari tilted her head, studying their body language. “Well if you're not fighting I dare you to kiss for 1 minute.”

Sara rolled her eyes. “Really? I thought you found us dating disgusting.”

“If you don't want to then just drink up, I don't care either way but Nate is very annoying when he's drunk and he's not gonna shut up about it if he thinks you're fighting.”

Sara sighed, looking a little annoyed. She turned to Ava with a questioning look. “Yes or no? I want to win but not if it'll make you uncomfortable.”

She was talking lowly enough that the others probably weren't listening in but Ava still felt like all the eyes in the room were glued to them. She knew Sara was being sincere and she couldn't really think of a lot of reasons not to kiss her, even if they weren't pretending to date it was a  _ dare _ , no one was going to blame her for going with it. Ava pulled Sara closer to her, resting a hand on her cheek to guide their mouths together. If they were to sell their couple act they might as well act like it. 

Sara’s lips were soft and she tasted of beer. Ava almost sighed from finally being able to taste her. Sara deepened the kiss, licking Ava’s bottom lip and Ava’s only thought was “ _ oh my god _ ”, she could hear some distant cheering but it was very hard to focus on anything other than Sara’s tongue in her mouth, feeling Sara’s body against hers,  _ so close _ and somehow not enough…

“All right, all right. I think that's enough, we have a game to finish,” Zari said loudly. 

Ava pulled away from Sara with a start, she had completely forgotten about the game. 

Sara’s hand lingered at her waist. “Is this my jacket?” she asked, grinning. “Looks good on you.”

They were both breathing heavily but while Sara just smirked and got a new ball so they could continue the game Ava was having trouble with calming her racing heart to pay any attention. 

Sara managed to send the ball into the cup perfectly again, and dared Zari and Amaya to take each other's pants off with their teeth. Amaya rolled her eyes but they managed to do it with only a few awkward moments. 

Both teams missed the next two throws, Ava was still a little shook from the kiss and Amaya put a little too much force into her throw. 

“Yes!” Zari cheered when the ball hit the mark in her next throw. “I've got a good one, I dare you to call your parents and tell them you're pregnant or adopting a kid.”

“No,” Ava and Sara said at the same time. 

Zari raised her eyebrows surprised with their reaction. “Oookay then, drink up!”

Ava tried to hide her relief as Sara picked up one of the cups without protest, they were already lying too much to their parents, they didn't need to add anything else to it. She grabbed the cup from Sara’s hand when it was halfway done and drank the rest herself, she needed to get really drunk if she wanted to survive this game. Sara just raised an eyebrow curiously but shrugged, grabbing another ball for her turn.

Sara dared Amaya and Zari to show them their favorite sex positions and Amaya didn't even bother to answer just grabbed a cup and downed the beer. 

“You're no fun!” Sara said chuckling.

“We’re still winning, that's what matters,” Zari said throwing her ball. 

“Actually it's a tie,” Ava corrected. 

“We’ll see!” Zari smirked. “I dare one of you to give Mick a lap dance while the other sings!”

Sara laughed. “Oh my god.” She turned to Ava with an amused smile. “I’m assuming you don't want to do the lap dance.”

Ava shook her head. “Yeah, I’ll pass.”

“Sing something nice for me then,” Sara said, walking to where Mick was sitting sipping his beer. “We can't let them win this.”

Ava watched Sara go, feeling weird about the whole situation and not knowing why. She was trying to think of a song when Gary appeared by her side and put a drink in her hand. 

“You’ll probably need this,” he said quietly before vanishing. 

She drank half of it in one go, glad that her friend knew her well. Sara nodded in her direction letting her know she was ready and Ava started to sing the first pop song she could think of. Thankfully it was a famous one and Ray and Nate started to sing along. A good thing too because when Sara started to move around on Mick’s lap with her tight leather pants Ava stopped paying attention to the music, not being able to tear her eyes away from Sara. 

Mick just looked amused when Sara started to do some exaggerated moves and Ava wondered how the hell he could look so calm when Sara’s ass was  _ right there.  _

“Oh oh, your girlfriend is jealous,” Nate said when Sara was done. 

It took Ava a second to realize he meant her and school her expression into something less hopelessly gay with a crush. 

“No need to be jealous, babe,” Sara laughed, walking quickly to where Ava was standing. She gently pushed Ava into a chair and sat on her lap. “You know I’m all yours.” Ava wondered if she was having a heart attack from how fast it was beating right then. Sara lowered her head until it was right by her ear. “If any of the dares are too much for you just squeeze my hand okay? We do need to up our game a little it seems, and I really want Zari to lose.”

Ava was nodding along not really registering her words. She downed her drink, trying to focus on anything other than the fact that Sara Lance was currently in her lap talking softly in her ear. 

“Come on babe, let's win this!” Sara said, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of Ava’s mouth and getting up. 

It took Ava a few seconds to actually join her back at the table, and she was having some trouble maintaining a normal expression and maybe standing up. 

Sara dared Amaya and Zari to ‘dirty talk’ and Amaya refused, letting Sara and Ava take the lead. Amaya managed to make a perfect throw thought to Zari’s delight. 

“I dare you to play the rest of the game in your underwear!”

“That's all well and good but I’m not exactly wearing any,” Sara said with a smirk. “Well, I've got a bra on but that's all.”

“That’ll count if Ava does it.”

"Since when are you the judge?” Sara asked teasingly. 

“Since I suggested the game!” Zari said. “Now hurry up and take your clothes off or drink up!”

“Well, when you ask nicely like that.”

Sara started to take her shirt off but stopped and looked at Ava. “What'd you think, babe? Clothes off?”

Ava was feeling the alcohol at this point and combined with the effect Sara had on her she was pretty much a goner. Most of the group was very drunk and/or not even paying attention to them so she just shrugged and started to unbutton her shirt, she had taken the leather jacket off at some point but she couldn't remember when. Sara grinned at her before taking her shirt off, throwing it right in Zari’s face. Ava couldn't hold in a giggle at the other woman’s disgruntled expression. 

“Need some help there Aves?” Sara asked, already stepping forward to unbutton Ava’s jeans. 

Ava swallowed, mouth dry, but she couldn't form any response so she just let Sara take her pants off, hoping no one noticed how flustered she was. 

Ava put her clothes neatly into a chair, trying to ignore the slight chill of room. When she got back to the table Sara was looking at her strangely. She glanced at her black bra and boy shorts, and mentally thanked past Ava for choosing comfortable underwear for the night, wondering if there was something wrong but didn't come up with anything. 

“We’re winning this, Tomaz, you might as well give up,” Sara said while preparing to throw. 

Ava took a moment to appreciate Sara’s look of red bra and leather pants as she did that, she could make anything look sexy as hell and it just wasn't fair. 

Zari just glared, not bothering with a comeback and Sara threw the ball only to miss it. Ava got a new ball for her turn praying she would succeed the throw so they could end this already. 

“Nice!” Sara cheered as Ava’s ball fell perfect into the cup. “Now, what dare should we make?” She smiled mischievously, tilting her head to the side in thought. 

Ava tried to concentrate and help but Sara was looking so hot and adorable and she was drunk and it was very hard to focus on anything other than Sara’s lips. Especially now that she knew how soft they were and how good they felt against hers. She tore her eyes away from Sara and went in search of a drink that wasn't at the table. She found a bottle easy enough and poured a generous amount in her cup before going back to the table. 

“I dare you to cut each other's hair. In any way you want but it needs to be noticeable.”

Ava almost choked on her drink feeling glad that wasn't  _ their _ dare because she knew her answer. Zari glanced at Amaya like she was choosing what kind of cut she could make but the other woman shook her head. 

“Nope. We’re not doing this,” Amaya said, grabbing a cup. 

“Yes!” Sara cheered quietly. “Okay so if you guys make a good throw and we do the dare we win, and if you miss and we don't and you refuse the dare we also win!.”

Zari ignored her, taking a deep breath in preparation for her throw. She missed but Amaya grabbed a ball and made a good throw. 

“I dare you to…” Zari stopped, thinking. 

“Come on Zari, we don't have all night,” Sara said impatiently.

“I dare you to leave six visible hickeys on one of you!”

Amaya threw a confused look at her girlfriend but Zari just shrugged. “It was the first thing I could think of!”

Ava’s first response to that was to say a big no, she was not going to survive Sara’s mouth on her neck and she did not need visible hickeys at all as a rule but then Sara looked at her with pleading eyes. 

“If we do this we win!” she said. “And It's not that bad, I mean, concealers are a thing.”

Ava knew she was in a lot of trouble when it came to denying Sara anything but she hadn't realized the extent of it until then. Sara’s blue eyes were shining with her excitement about winning the game, her eyes crinkling on the sides in that adorable way, and Ava was just helpless. 

She nodded. “Okay. But I’ll do you, I don't want to have to worry about concealers.”

“You can do me any time, babe,” Sara said smirking. “Let's win this!”

Sara pulled her hair to the side to give Ava easy access to her neck and Ava started to doubt her ability to go through with this. It was very hard to give your friend hickeys in a platonic way. Especially when she was supposed to be acting like a girlfriend for the others but not for said friend. 

She stepped closer to Sara and the sight of her clad in a red bra and waiting for her to give her fucking hickeys was almost too much for Ava.  __

She placed a hand on Sara’s neck but when she just stood there unmoving Zari started to protest. 

“The dare was hickeys, not eye sex, or you could just drink.”

“Gee Tomaz, didn’t realize you were that interested in my sex life,” Sara said. 

“Could we maybe do this somewhere without an audience?” Ava asked, chewing her lip. 

Zari started to say something but Sara beat her to it. “Doing it with an audience was never part of the dare,” she said and grabbed Ava’s hand, pulling Ava with her towards the nearest room. 

When the door closed behind them Ava became painfully aware of their lack of clothes. She drew a shaky breath and took Sara in. 

“What’s a couple hickeys among friends, right?” Sara smiled. 

Ava nodded weakly. “Could you,” she asked, motioning for Sara to get her hair out of the way. Sara did as asked and Ava placed a hand on Sara’s neck, pulling her head to one side to expose her throat. 

“Relax,” Sara smiled. Ava nodded, drew in a breath, and leaned down, her lips finally finding Sara’s neck. Ava thought she heard Sara draw in a breath at the contact but she was too nervous and focused at the task at hand to truly notice. 

She started by pressing a soft kiss to Sara’s neck, not really knowing how she was supposed to start going about leaving hickeys on her friend without even making out first. Next she pressed a couple open mouthed kisses, trying to feel out Sara’s reaction and ignore her own. She felt Sara tense when she tentatively stuck out her tongue, and started to pull back, but Sara’s hand came up to grasp her hair and stop her. She experimentally pressed her mouth to Sara’s neck again and let her free hand travel to Sara’s waist, pulling her closer for easier access. Ava gasped against Sara’s neck when she felt her almost naked torso pressed flush against her own, having half forgotten about how little clothes they were both wearing. She had no time to dwell on their lack of clothes because Sara’s hand moved to press against her back, pulling her even closer, just as she lightly started sucking on Sara’s skin and running her tongue over it.

With alcohol and  _ Sara _ clouding her mind Ava was only faintly aware that she had started pushing Sara towards the nearest wall, never detaching her mouth from Sara’s neck. When Sara hit the wall Ava sucked a little harder on the same spot, before gently biting it and pulling back a couple of inches to inspect her work. After verifying that there was indeed a bruise starting to blossom on Sara’s neck, Ava leaned back in, aiming a little lower and starting the whole process over again. She could hardly believe that this was happening and a part of her just felt like it was all a dream. Dream or not she was not going to pass up the opportunity to be pressed this close to Sara, touching and kissing those toned muscles she had admired since they had met. 

This time she started with a gentle bite, followed by not so gentle sucking, and Sara let out a groan at the action. Ava felt a sudden urge to move her mouth to Sara’s lips so she could swallow it but she quickly banned the thought, focusing on what she was doing. Sara’s hand moved up only for Sara to drag her nails down Ava’s back, earning her a groan and an extra hard suck before Ava pulled back again, pleased with the second hickey she had left on Sara’s pale skin. She moved on to Sara’s collarbone, unable to keep her mouth off of Sara’s skin, hoping her friend was too distracted to realize how much she was enjoying this. Judging by Sara’s insistent hand in Ava’s hair, pulling her closer, and Sara’s moans, Ava thought Sara was probably enjoying it a little more than planned too. 

Sara’s breathless moans only increased in volume as the minutes went on and come the fourth hickey Sara’s hand had moved from Ava’s back to her stomach, creeping up to Ava’s breast. Ava shivered and let out a small moan at the action which only spurred Sara on, her hand fully covering her breast. Ava was completely lost in the moment and responded by putting a leg between Sara’s thighs as she found a new spot for a hickey under Sara’s jaw. Sara ground down on Ava’s thigh and it took every bit of self control Ava had to keep her hands above Sara’s waist. When Ava found a spot she deemed perfect for the next hickey she brought her hand to Sara’s abs and started scratching them distractedly. By the time she was done with the hickey she’d forgotten the reason for leaving them in the first place. She started kissing her way down Sara’s chest, letting her hand trail down Sara’s abdomen. Just before she could do something they both might regret, the door to the room opened with a loud bang and Ava jumped away from Sara at the sudden intrusion. 

“The dare was 6 hickeys, not for the two of you to bang, we’ve got a game to finish!” Zari said impatiently, leaving the door open as she made her way back to the beer pong table.

Ava could feel heat rise in her cheeks as she remembered where they were and what they were supposed to be doing and that she and Sara were definitely _not_ supposed to be getting carried away like a horny couple. She glanced at Sara, who was still leaning against the wall, her neck and chest littered with hickeys, breathing heavily. Ava found it was hard to take her eyes away from the sight of a half naked Sara covered in hickeys  _ Ava _ had left on her, so she just stood there dumbly.

After a minute and a yell from Zari to get their asses outside before she declared herself the winner Sara pushed away from the wall and grabbed Ava’s hand, pulling her with her back to the game as if nothing had happened inside the room. 

“Ugh finally,” Zari grumbled when she saw them.

“Looks like they got more than the six hickeys done too,” Amaya pointed out. 

“That means  _ we _ are the winners!” Sara said with a smug smile. “Isn't that right Zari?”

Zari rolled her eyes. “Yeah yeah, I guess you are.”

“We did it!” Sara said, turning to Ava, her eyes shining with excitement. “This requires some celebration drinks!” She grabbed the remaining cups of beer and handed one to Ava. “To us, hottest couple and now the best at fear pong!”

Ava couldn't help but smile, this was all ridiculous but she was drunk enough not to care. “To us,” she echoed, drowning her beer just as Sara did the same. 

When she put the empty cup at the table Ava noticed Sara was grinning adorably at her and she just wanted to kiss her. Ava scolded herself mentally and was about to step away when Sara lunged forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips. 

“We won!” she said happily before immediately walking away mumbling something about food. 

Ava stood there watching the empty spot Sara had just vacated, trying to sort out her jumbled thoughts. She didn't make much progress, the alcohol made it hard to think and she was too tired to make sense of anything. 

“You should drink some water,” Gary said, appearing by her side, looking very much sober. “Congratulations on the win by the way.” He had a weird smile on his face that Ava couldn't figure out what meant in her current state. 

“I think you're right, I should drink water.” She frowned. “I’m not sure the drinking was a good idea.”

“When I suggested drinking this is not what I had in mind,” Gary said. “It's not my fault you're such a hopeless lesbian.”

Ava tried to glare at him but she was pretty sure it didn't  have much effect when she felt just a step away from puking. 

“Come on, let's sober up. You can glare at me tomorrow.” 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy (late) Beebo day! We hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Ava kept gripping the wheel tightly as she tried to focus on driving and ignoring her anxious thoughts. Sara was casually mouthing the words of a song beside her looking very much relaxed, which for some reason just made Ava’s anxiety spike. 

She parked in front of her parents’ house but didn't make any move to exit the car. 

“Ava?” Sara asked confused. She had her hand on the handle, ready to go out. “Are you nervous?”

Ava glanced at Sara but didn't answer. Her expression seemed to be enough though because Sara turned in her seat so she was facing her. 

“It’ll be okay. It's just a dinner with your parents, you've done those your whole life, you should be a pro by now,” Sara said with a small grin that earned her a halfhearted eye roll from Ava. “But seriously Aves, your parents sound really nice from what you've told me, except for the obsession with your love life, and this is exactly the problem we are solving here, if anyone should be nervous it's me.”

“And are you?”

“No. A little,” Sara shrugged. “I trust my charming abilities though so I’ll be fine.” She grinned. “It's not like they're gonna be trying to figure out if this is a real relationship or not, Aves. As far as they are concerned I _  am _ just a girl you're dating. Now come on, I need to get out of this damn car.”

Sara exited the car and was already walking to the trunk before Ava could move. She took a deep breath and undid her seat belt. Sara’s pep talk had weirdly worked to calm her, no one would be studying them and looking for mistakes. They  _ had _ managed to fool their friends, and they were used to seeing them together, unlike her parents.

Ava exited the car and felt her phone vibrating in her pocket. She quickly grabbed the phone and unlocked it. Gary had sent a text wishing her good luck and asking for some of her father's cookies, and she couldn't help but smile. 

“Are you just gonna stand there all day Aves? Some of us would like to actually go inside the house.” 

Ava rolled her eyes at Sara and was just about to say something when the door to her parents' house opened. 

“Oh cookie, you're here! I thought I heard voices!” Ava’s father said as he quickly walked outside so he could hug his daughter. 

Ava relaxed into her father’s tight embrace, realizing how much she had missed him. Since this whole girlfriend debacle she had avoided conversation with her parents as much as possible as a way to try and avoid her anxiety but that also meant  _ not _ talking to them. She hadn't realized how much that was a part of her routine until now. 

“It's good to see you, cookie,” he mumbled against her ear, they were roughly the same height when Ava wasn't wearing heels. He pulled back, grinning happily. “And you must be Sara! I've always known Ava had a good taste in women.” He winked.

“Nice to meet you Mr.Sharpe!” Sara said, chuckling. 

“Ah, none of that! Just call me Henry, please. Come on in,” he said, still grinning. “Do you need any help with the bags?”

“Nah, I've got those covered,” Sara said, showing the bags that were securely in her hands. 

“Ah, a gentlewoman,” Henry said approvingly. 

They went inside and Ava had barely stepped into the living room when a ball of ginger fur rubbed against her leg. 

“Cupcake!” she said fondly, picking the cat up to pet it. The cat rubbed its head against her face and Ava grinned. “I missed you too.”

“You didn't tell me you had a cat,” Sara said. She had stopped following Henry when she noticed the cat. 

“It's kinda of my parents’ cat.”

“No, it's not,” Henry said, shaking his head. “She's all Ava's, we're just owners of the house she lives in.”

“She's not that bad, dad,” Ava said, still hugging the cat that seemed happy to stay in her arms. “She likes Allie.”

“She likes Allie  _ occasionally _ . And I'm still convinced she either thinks Allie is you or settles for the closest thing.”

Ava threw a slightly offended look at her father while Sara watched them with a small amused smile. Before Henry could say anything else an older blonde woman entered the room, smiling brightly at them. 

“Ava! Oh Henry why didn't you tell me they were here!” she said, walking towards Ava and pulling her into a hug. Cupcake was quick to jump away from them as soon as she got close and went to sniff Sara warily. “You're looking good, honey. Dating life looks good on you!”

Ava almost rolled her eyes, almost. She hugged her mom back throwing  _ a look _ at her dad behind her back. 

“Let the girl breath a little, Rose,” Henry said with a small smile. 

Rose ignored her husband but did release Ava only to turn her attention to Sara. 

“And you must be Sara,” she smiled happily, “I'm so happy to finally meet you!”

Ava only realized what her mom was about to do a second too late and before she could do anything Rose had pulled Sara into a hug. 

“You too, Mrs. Sharpe. I've heard a lot about you,” Sara said smoothly, only making Rose's smile grow bigger. 

“Please call me Rose, there's no need to be so formal. Did Henry show you to your room? We got the guest room for you girls since Ava's is still the same as she left it and that bed is too small for two. Come on, let's get those bags in there.” She didn't pause to let anyone say anything and just started leading the way towards the guest bedroom. 

Sara followed her easily enough but Ava was still rooted to the spot, trying to work out how she hadn't even  _ considered  _ the possibility that they wouldn’t be staying in different rooms. She hadn't brought anyone that wasn't Gary over in a while and he always slept in the guest bedroom while she stayed in her own room. 

“Come on cookie, we shouldn't leave your girlfriend alone with your mom for long.” Henry pushed Ava into motion with gentle hands on her shoulders.    
  


Her parents left them to freshen up after a few minutes and Ava busied herself with unpacking, which just meant she was opening her bag and staring at her clothes. 

Up until now she had somehow managed not to think about the previous night, too worried about the drive to her parents. Now, however, staring at her open bag, she could do nothing but think about it, about how Sara’s tongue had felt in her mouth, how Sara’s cheeks had flushed nicely the more she drank, how Sara’s body had felt pressed against hers, Ava's tongue working on her pale skin. Ava glanced involuntarily at Sara, imagined the bruises still on her skin underneath her shirt. She swallowed and turned away, groaning internally.  _ Could she maybe not lust after her  **friend** for just five minutes? _  She wondered if Sara even remembered, surely she would have noticed the hickeys when getting dressed, but she hadn’t said a word about it to Ava. Maybe Sara was just better at separating their act from real life. Maybe she just didn’t care. 

“Aves?” Sara called, breaking her out of her thoughts. She was lying down on the bed, watching Ava with a small frown. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yes. I should be the one asking  _ you _ that.”

“I'm fine, Aves. Your parents seem nice.” She smiled a little. “Your mom  _ is _ very excited about you dating tho, isn't she? How long has it been since your last girlfriend?”

Ava shook her head and ignored the question, finally starting to pull her things out of the bag. She looked around the room awkwardly for a second, she really wasn't used to being in there. 

“Is this okay?” Ava asked suddenly. “I don't know why but it didn't cross my mind that they would get the guest room ready for us. I'm sure we can figure something out…”

“Aves, relax. I've agreed to be your girlfriend, sleeping in the same bed is not a problem.” Sara smiled reassuringly. “Plus, if I'm not cool with anything I'll tell you, okay?” 

Ava nodded, feeling a mix of relief and anxiety at Sara's relaxed answer. She doubted she would get any sleep that night but she wasn't exactly complaining about having Sara in bed with her. 

“When do I get to see your room though, I need to gather some vital information about teenager Ava, for science.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “You really don't.”

“Of course I do. First off because I want to, and second because as your girlfriend I  _ have  _ to. What kind of girlfriend doesn't want embarrassing childhood facts to use as a bribe?”

“There's nothing embarrassing about my room and you do realize we're not actually dating right?” Ava shook her head. “You really don't have to do everything you would if we were actually dating, you know?”

Sara grinned in that way that made Ava's stomach jump pleasantly. Before Sara could say anything they heard voices outside, both turning their attention to it. 

_ “...they're probably just making out, Henry. Haven't you seen kids this days?” _

_ “Of course I have, but they must be hungry after the drive, I don't think they'll mind if we interrupt anything."  _ There was a pause and Ava kept her gaze on the door, waiting for it to be open.  _ “Plus this is still Ava, honey, you know how she can be.” _

Ava frowned confused about her father's words, she almost missed the knock on the door. Out of habit she looked around to see if there was anything out of place before opening the door and realized her bag and Sara’s were practically untouched and they hadn't done anything to settle in. This was unlike her as she liked to unpack as soon as possible whenever she had a bag with her. Ava threw a slightly panicked look at Sara who immediately kneeled on the bed to get closer to Ava. 

“The bags?” she whispered. 

Ava just nodded, relieved that Sara knew her enough to have noticed her habits. She quickly saved that information for later and tried to think of an excuse before she had to open the door but Sara pulling her shirt off put a stop on that. 

“What are you doing!?” Ava whisper shouted. 

“Helping.” Sara smiled, pulling Ava onto the bed, immediately pushing her down onto the mattress and straddling her waist. 

Ava barely had time to awkwardly rest her hands on Sara's thighs before the door opened slightly, her mother's head appearing. Ava’s gaze involuntarily moved to Sara’s chest, every single hickey Ava had left there on full display. The sound of her mother’s voice made her tear her eyes away. 

“Ah, sorry girls. We didn't mean to interrupt. Henry's made some brownies and some kind of special cookies that are better eaten hot.” Rose smiled gently at them. “We'll be in the living room.”

Henry grinned at them and gave his daughter thumbs up before closing the door. 

 

When they exited the room Ava could still feel a faint blush on her cheeks and she was just praying to every deity she didn't believe in that her parents didn't comment on what they had walked in on. Well, what they thought they had walked in on. 

“You okay?” Sara asked, probably noticing her tension. 

Before Ava could answer the doorbell rang. They heard Rose's excited voice and went into the living room to see who was it. Ava smiled slightly at the sight of her twin sister rolling her eyes at their mother's enthusiastic hug. 

“Hi Ava, aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?” Allie said as soon as she saw them. 

“You could at least pretend to be interested in me and not my love life.”

The sisters smiled matching smiles before hugging each other. Ava made the introductions after they parted, she felt proud of herself for not rolling her eyes when Allie held Sara's hand longer than necessary, seemingly studying her. 

“Come on Allie, dad made cookies.” 

Allie's whole face lit up at that and she promptly dropped her bag by the door and headed to the kitchen. 

“Those must be some cookies,” Sara commented, amused. 

Ava nodded seriously. “We should get there before she eats everything.” At Sara's still amused face Ava added, “I'm not kidding, she ate a whole batch by herself twice now. Got really sick afterwards both times and still hasn't learned to stop.”

Ava focused on eating her father's amazing cookies and not on Sara moaning with pleasure beside her. As everyone who had tried Henry's cookies, Sara was amazed. Ava didn't think it was necessary to moan like that though, she had a slight suspicion that Sara was trying to get a rise out of her but she ignored it in favor of making sure Allie wasn't eating everything by herself. 

“Hey dad, Gary asked me to take some of these back to him.”

Henry grinned.  “Ah, I'll make more before you leave but tell him he needs to come visit more often. I saw his mother the other day and she says it's been too long since he came to see her.”

“Gary visited her just last week, dad.” Ava shook her head fondly. “You and Miss Green need to stop expecting us to be here every week.”

“I think I'll want some of these to go too, Henry,” Sara said, biting into another cookie. 

“No worries, I'll bake more ASAP!” Henry smiled. 

To Ava's surprise her family didn't start an interrogation on Sara right then and there. The conversation stayed mostly on her dad’s cooking with her mom making sure he didn't get too excited and start baking right away. Ava knew that wouldn't last though so after they finished eating she was quick to drag Sara away towards her room.    
  


Ava let Sara walk inside her old room and just stood there awkwardly. She had never brought anyone she was dating to her room like this - not that she was dating Sara of course - and she didn't know what to expect. Sara started to walk around the room and Ava tried to figure out what was going through her head. There wasn't much in the room besides the normal furniture, a few books, and some knickknacks on her desk. Her parents hadn't really touched her room except to keep it clean even though she said they could. 

“You're such a nerd,” Sara said, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Who even keeps their notebooks after high school? I threw mine away before the year was even finished.”

Ava shook her head but didn't bother answering, Sara had that teasing smiled on her face and it was a little hard to focus. 

Sara continued perusing her room. She walked over to her old bed, still in the sheets she had left them in. She ran a hand along the covers, a thoughtful expression on her face. Ava put her hands behind her back, standing as tall as she could, trying not to show the nervousness she felt at having Sara in her childhood bedroom. Sara moved over to her bookcase, weirdly empty after she took most of her books with her to college. She ran a finger over the back of the books still there. After going through all of them she moved to Ava’s drawer, turning to Ava with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“Got any surprises in here?” she asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Ava rolled her eyes. She was fairly certain there was nothing in there that Sara could use against her, the drawer having been almost cleaned out when she left. When Ava didn’t protest, Sara curiously opened the top drawer. Ava couldn’t see exactly what was left inside through Sara’s back, but she noticed Sara’s arm moving, taking something out of it. She didn’t realize what it was until Sara unfolded it and turned around, putting whatever it was on over her sweater. Of course Sara had managed to find her high school hoodie and  _ of course _ she was going to wear it. Ava’s pretty sure she almost had a heart attack at the sight.

“You okay there?” Sara asked, a smirk on her lips.

“I’m fine,” Ava said with a small cough. She turned away from Sara in favor of walking over to her nightstand on the opposite side of the room from her, inspecting the small lamp on top of it. She could hear the sound of Sara going back to inspecting her room. She had to fight the urge to let her eyes move back to her.

“ _ Ava!”  _ Sara exclaimed. Ava turned around at once, wondering what Sara could have found. She found Sara’s face torn between shock and a grin. She followed her line of sight, eyes landing on the culprit of Sara’s outburst. Her cheeks immediately started to color at the sight, having had completely forgotten about the small poster lying on her desk.

“Eat, sleep, and scissor,” Sara read in a mock scandalized voice, one hand moving to rest on her chest.

“My parents, uh, they got it for me,” she said, eyes looking anywhere but Sara. “They don’t know what it means but they saw the lesbian colors, and they were so excited when they gave it to me I didn’t have the heart to tell them what it actually means. They just think lesbians really like scissors.”

Sara laughed, involuntarily making Ava’s eyes flit back to her. It was enough to do away with most of her embarrassment. Before they could say anything else there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Ava called. Not that it mattered, her sister was halfway through the door by the time she’d uttered the words.

“I’m bored,” Allie said, holding up and lightly shaking a bottle of whiskey. Sara’s eyes lit up as she noticed.

“I like your sister,” Sara said with a grin. She took her hand away from the poster and the desk, making Allie’s eyes fall to them.

Allie laughed. “You’ve still got that thing?”

“It makes mom and dad happy.” Ava shrugged.

“I think it’s adorable,” Sara said, snaking her arm around Ava’s waist and leaning into her side. Ava inhaled deeply at the unexpected contact. “That whiskey for sharing?” Sara asked, eyeing the bottle in Allie’s hand.

“Yeah, I thought we could share it and embarrassing stories about my darling sister.”

Ava groaned at her sister’s words.

“That sounds like a great idea.” Sara’s eyes lit up with excitement.

“Let’s hang in here so we don’t disturb mom and dad.”

Ava nodded, looking around the room for a place to sit. Before she could as much as think to walk over to her desk chair, Sara dragged her over to the bed, pushing her down on it and seating herself in Ava’s lap. She looked at Allie and patted the bed next to them as Ava awkwardly put her arms around her. Allie smiled sweetly as she looked at them, before closing the door and joining them on the bed.

“You said you have stories about Ava,” Sara said excitedly, reaching a hand out for the whiskey. Allie’s eyes lit up. Ava groaned as she started talking about their childhood.

“I gotta show you the pictures!” Allie exclaimed, many stories later, the bottle of whiskey halfway emptied.

“Please don’t,” Ava groaned.

“Please do!” Sara pleaded.

“Let me go find the album.” Allie sprung from the bed, quickly making her way over to the door with only a little wobble. She stopped with her hand on the handle, turning back to them with narrowed eyes. “I better not come back to find you two making out.”

“No promises,” Sara laughed, placing her hand behind Ava’s neck and leaning in to press a kiss on her cheek. Ava’s breath caught in her throat. Sara pulled back as the door closed, but only enough to rest her head on Ava’s shoulder instead. Ava slowly exhaled, trying to get her heart rate back to normal. 

“I like you sister,” Sara said, fidgeting with the slightly longer sleeve of her stolen hoodie.

“I think she likes you too,” Ava said, a warm feeling rushing through her at the thought. It shouldn’t have affected her like that, Sara was  **not** her girlfriend, and yet she couldn’t help it. “Maybe a little too much,” she added with a light chuckle.

“You better be decent!” Allie called as she pushed open the door. Sara lifted her head slightly from Ava’s shoulder, half turning in her lap. Just as the door opened fully her lips made contact with Ava’s throat.

“Fine, I’ll take my whiskey and cookies somewhere else.”

Sara’s head whisked up. Ava let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“Did you say cookies?”

Allie wiggled the plate in her hand. Just as she turned to once more close the door, a small ginger flash leapt past her legs.

“Guess Cupcake’s joining us,” Allie said, shrugging, as she finally closed the door.

Ava's cat jumped up on the bed, curiously looking at Sara. Sara reached out a hand but Cupcake jumped back to avoid it. When Sara retracted the hand the cat moved closer, rubbing itself against Ava’s thigh. Ava lifted one of her hands away from Sara to scratch it behind its ears. She thought she may have imagined it but she’s pretty sure she heard Sara whine. Allie sat down in her seat on the bed again with an amused smile.

Sara reached a hand out for the plate of cookies. As her hand passed Cupcake the cat hissed. Sara snatched her arm back, cookie in hand, and turned narrowed eyes on the cat.

“I think your cat’s jealous of your girlfriend,” Allie commented with amusement.

Sara huffed. “You said you had pictures?” she asked with a mouthful of cookie, ignoring the cat.

Allie’s eyes lit up anew as she set the cookies down on the nightstand and opened up the photo album. Sara leaned over to get a better look at the picture, which only served to elicit another hiss from Cupcake.

“Cupcake, please calm down,” Ava sighed, trying to distract her with scratches.

“It’s fine, I’ll go sit with Allie instead,” Sara grumbled, sliding off of Ava’s lap.

“No, Sara,” Ava started, but it was already too late. Cupcake wasted no time jumping up into Ava’s lap. Ava shook her head and used both hands to pet her cat, already missing Sara’s warmth. She mentally cursed herself for getting so used to having Sara pressed up against her and for enjoying it too much. 

“Oh, I remember this!” Allie exclaimed, pointing at a picture Ava couldn’t see. “We were in like third grade or something? We had to fill out this feedback form to our teacher and Ava wrote that she shouldn’t use collective punishment because it’s a war crime. Dad took us out for ice cream when he heard.”

“I stand by it!” Ava said, looking over at her sister and her (fake) girlfriend, both giggling.

“Of course you do,” Sara said, still giggling. Ava smiled as she looked into her sparkling eyes.

They shared a few more stories, most of which Ava spent just looking at Sara’s reactions, not even hearing half of them. She’d look away when Sara would look up, only to look back a couple of minutes later. After a while the whiskey bottle went from halfway empty to only having a fifth left of its contents. Cupcake lost interest in being petted and jumped off of Ava’s lap to explore the rest of the room. Sara was quick to reclaim her seat on top of Ava. She was still wearing the hoodie but sometime during their storytelling she had pushed the sleeves up to her elbows. Ava’s tongue subconsciously came out to wet her lips as she noticed. She couldn’t help but think that Sara looked way better in her hoodie than she had any right to.

She was brought out of her thoughts when she felt something cold on her stomach, making her jump in her seat.

“My hands are cold, warm them for me,” Sara mumbled almost sleepily, splaying her hands on Ava’s belly.

“You stole my warmest hoodie, you can warm them there instead of making me cold.”

“What kind of girlfriend doesn’t help warm up her girlfriends hands?” Ava shoots Allie a betrayed look at her sister's words.

“Yeah, Aves. Be a good girlfriend and warm up my hands.” A smug smile crossed Sara’s lips. Ava sighed. 

Sara narrowed her eyes on her face as if something on it offended her.

“What?”

“I was going to boop your nose, but my hands are cold.” Before Ava could offer a reply, Sara leaned in, quickly kissing the tip of her nose.

“You two are way too adorable.”

Ava smiled shyly and wrapped her arms properly around Sara. 

"We are," Sara agreed, before her attention moved to Allie's phone. Ava couldn't help feel disappointed by the shift of attention.

“Who’s that? He’s hot,” she said, biting her lip, leaning just far enough away from Ava that her hands were still underneath Ava’s shirt to get a better look at the phone.

“My boyfriend,” Allie said, smiling down at her phone, before her eyes flew up to Sara. “Wait, you’re into guys?”

“Sara’s bi,” Ava mumbled, hands going to fidget with the top of Sara’s pants.

“Ava refuses to talk about boys with me,” Allie said, throwing her hands into the air.

“I don’t! I just don’t get what you see in them.”

“Well  _ I _ do. What’s he like? Oh, you gotta check out my background!” Sara frowned as she looked down at her hidden hands. “Babe, get my phone from my pocket and show Allie my background.”

Ava sighed as she moved one of her hands to Sara’s pocket, easily fishing out her phone, only half distracted by the feel of Sara’s thigh underneath it. She quickly unlocked the phone, not thinking twice about the fact that she knew Sara’s pin without having to think. She froze when she saw the background picture. It was a picture of Ava working by her desk, eyebrows drawn together and biting her lip in thought. She hadn’t even realized Sara had taken it, let alone that it was her phone’s background.

“Lemme see,” Allie said, trying to lean between Ava and Sara to get a better look. Ava distractedly offered the phone to her, too surprised by the discovery to do anything else. “Aww, that’s so cute,” she said, before throwing the phone down on the bed beside them. Before Ava knew it was happening, she felt a hand in her pocket. One second later her sister was holding her phone in her hand.

“ _ Aves, _ Sara has that adorable picture of you as her background and you have a  _ galaxy _ ?”

Ava tried to sink into the wall behind her back. She hadn’t as much as thought about phone backgrounds when this whole ordeal happened.

“I think her background is adorably nerdy,” Sara said, looking at Ava with a fond expression. Ava felt herself blush as she looked away, thankful when Allie grew bored of the conversation and brought it back to boys, a thing she never thought she’d be grateful for.

Ava tuned out the conversation as it moved between Allie’s boyfriend and other men the two felt like talking about. It wasn't like she didn't want to listen to their talk, she was just relaxed enough from the alcohol and Sara's warmth that it was hard to pay any attention. She pulled Sara properly back on her lap so she could rest her head on her shoulder while they talked. By the time Allie yawned and announced it was time for bed, Ava was already almost half asleep on Sara’s shoulder.

“Good night, it was nice to get to know you.” Sara smiled as Allie got up from the bed. “Come on, we should move to the bed that can actually fit both of us,” she said when Allie had left. Ava reluctantly let Sara get out of her lap and pull her out of the room, successfully keeping a whine from escaping her lips. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're happy y'all are loving this fic so much ♥  
> We're sorry for the continued slow updates but unfortunately the updates are probably gonna stay a little slow, but what we can promise is the next chapter will always come ♥  
> We hope it was worth the wait for this one!

The sun streaming through a crack in the curtains woke Ava up from a deep sleep. She buried her face in the pillow, deciding she could be lazy for a few minutes. It only lasted two seconds as the memories of the night before came crashing down. Ava's eyes snapped open, immediately searching for the familiar head of blonde hair that was supposed to be in bed with her only to find the other side of bed empty. She hugged the covers to her chest, trying to fight the wave of disappointment that came over her at having woken up without Sara's arms wrapped around her. Right before they went to sleep Sara had warned her about being a cuddler and Ava, much to her annoyance, was secretly hoping to experience that first hand. 

She sighed and kicked the covers off of her, thinking she might as well get up and go find Sara before she was left alone with her parents for too long. 

After changing out of her PJs and brushing her teeth, Ava headed towards the kitchen, her stomach growling in excitement at the prospect of her father's food. She frowned, finding it empty, and was about to go check upstairs when she heard voices outside. Ava almost missed a step when she opened the kitchen door and saw her fake girlfriend doing some heavy lifting in the garage. She couldn't help but stand there watching as Sara, wearing her workout attire that consisted of short shorts and a sport bra, lifted and carried boxes outside like it was the easiest thing in the world. Rose was inside the garage giving directions while Henry kept trying to help Sara only to have his wife pull him back and remind him of his back problems. Ava spent more time than she should've watching them before her brain realized she should be helping instead of drooling. 

“Morning cookie!” her father said with a smile. “Your girl is a strong one.”

Sara turned around, giving Ava a gentle smirk and a wink before going back for another box. Ava licked her lips, mentally telling herself to focus on anything other than Sara if she were to survive the day without having multiple gay panics. 

“Why's she cleaning the garage anyways, dad?”

“Oh I just wanted to grab the other waffle maker to make some special waffles for Sara, and your mom remembered there was something she wanted back here. She won't let me carry the boxes so we have been procrastinating it for a while.”

Ava rolled her eyes. “You know you can't carry heavy stuff dad, you should've just asked me.”

“I'm all done but you can help me put them back in, babe,” Sara said, patting one of the boxes, a slightly teasing smile on her lips. 

Henry grabbed what he needed and smiled back at the girls. “Thank you! I'm gonna go start on breakfast.”

“Ava, sweetie, come help me with this.”

Ava joined her mom and Sara inside the garage and started to move things around as her mother asked. They worked quickly and soon the place was back to normal. 

“Thank you girls!” Rose said. “I was beginning to think I would have to pay someone to do this.”

“Whenever you need help just give us a call, I'm always happy to help,” Sara offered. “It's a good work out, right Aves?” Ava nodded faintly. “I'm gonna hit the shower.”

Ava couldn't help but let her eyes wander, following a droplet of sweat running down Sara's throat. Sara smirked as she caught the look and stepped close to Ava so she could press a quick kiss to her blushing cheek.   
  


As she sat down at the table to wait for breakfast, Ava just couldn't shake the image of Sara carrying boxes out of her head, not just because the whole thing was hot but Sara was playing the role of her nice girlfriend so well she didn't know what to think. 

Allie threw herself on the chair beside Ava and snatched the waffle their dad had just put down in front of Ava. 

“Allie,” Henry chastised with a small smile. “There's more coming in a minute.”

“Yeah, yeah. My head hurts and it's Ava's fault.”

“Me?!” Ava snorted. “You were the one that decided to have a whiskey party and drank half the bottle.”

Allie just groaned, letting her head drop onto the table. Rose caressed her hair gently, putting a cup of coffee beside her. Ava rolled her eyes, sharing a grin with her father when he pushed another waffle onto her plate. 

“Those waffles look great, Henry,” Sara said, entering the kitchen, her hair still wet from the shower and falling around her face. Ava blinked in surprise, noticing that she was wearing Ava's old hoodie again. 

“Ah, Sara! Yours will be ready in a second!” Henry said, smiling brightly at her. 

“Do you drink coffee, Sara?” Rose asked.  “We also have tea and juice if you prefer.”

“Coffee is fine.” Sara smiled her thanks before going to stand behind Allie's chair. “Morning Allie!” she said loudly. 

“Jesus! Quieter, please!” Allie groaned. “How the fuck are you not hungover right now?”

“I have high tolerance.” Sara smirked. “Can you shuffle over so I can sit close to my beautiful girlfriend or is that too hard?”

Allie groaned again but complied. “You're lucky I like you. I can't decide if this is cute or disgusting,” she said, taking a big sip of her coffee. 

“Leave them alone Allie, you were the same when you started dating Joe,” Rose said as she smiled down at them and refilled their cups. 

“Mom you don't have to keep serving us…” Ava started to protest. 

“I barely see you girls, let me spoil you when I can.”

“Yes Ava, shut up,” Allie mumbled. 

Ava rolled her eyes at her sister but smiled, enjoying the familiarity of it all. Even with Sara there it felt just like any other weekend, Sara just seemed to fit in with them as easily as if she were part of the family. Sara's hand on her leg snapped her attention back to the present and out of her musings. She looked at Sara trying to figure out what was going on but she seemed perfectly content with eating one handed for no apparent reason. 

“So, Ava, sweetie, aren't you going to tell us how you met? Well I know you are roommates but tell us about how you started dating!” Rose asked when everyone had their plates full of waffles. 

Ava managed not to choke on her coffee at the question. She should've known this was coming and yet, she was not ready. 

“As you said we're roommates so that's how we met, we weren't very fond of each other at first though,” Sara started. “I found Ava's necessity to keep everything organized really annoying. But I guess we just needed to get used to living with each other and when we did we became fast friends. And then it just happened, I guess.”

Ava nodded hoping they wouldn't want them to expand too much on that, she didn't know if she could talk about it without revealing her true feelings. 

“That's very cliche of you guys,” Allie said, munching on her breakfast. “And Ava can be pretty annoying so I get it.”

“I'm right here, remember Allie?” Ava shook her head. “And I'm not that bad.”

“You're not babe, I just wasn't used to it,” Sara said with a relaxed smile and a gentle squeeze on Ava's leg that made her momentarily forget why she was even annoyed. 

“What are you studying, Sara?” Henry asked, tactfully changing the subject. 

“I'm just taking a bunch of classes right now, not sure exactly what I'm going for yet.”

“Ah,” he nodded, “that’s good, you can experience a little of everything.”

“Sara does really well in all of her classes too, no wonder she is having trouble choosing,” Ava added. 

“Like you're not top of your classes,” Sara teased gently. “I know I don't want a office job that's for sure, but who knows. I might end up a detective like my dad.”

“Both of you want to work protecting the innocent and whatnot, why am I not surprised,” Allie said. 

“I think that's amazing,” Rose said. “A little worrying though.”

“Mom, please. We haven't even finished college yet, we don't even know if I'm gonna join the FBI and Sara is still thinking about it.”

“Come on Aves, they would be crazy not to accept you.” Sara smiled encouragingly. “But yeah we can worry about all that later.”

Rose nodded seriously only to grin a second later. “What about kids, can I expect some grand kids from you two or will I just have Allie here to bug about it?”

Ava tried to swallowed the food quickly to shut down that line of questioning but ended up choking. Sara patted her back while she drank the last of her coffee to help the food down. 

“Okay there babe?” Sara asked softly. 

Ava nodded mutely, still not used to the easy way Sara called her ‘babe' and how much she liked it. 

“I don’t think we've had time for that, we only started dating a few weeks ago,” Sara said smoothly. “I'm not opposed to the idea though, I like kids.”

“You're not?” Ava asked almost without meaning to. 

Sara shrugged. “I guess. Not any time soon though.”

Rose beamed at them and Ava concluded Sara was officially approved. It made her feel warm inside and she had to consciously remind herself that it didn't really matter whether her parents liked her  _ fake _ girlfriend or not.   
  


They left Ava’s parents not too long after. Rose and Henry hugged both of them for longer than necessary but Ava didn't mind, she’d take however long a hug she could get with how long it would probably be until she saw them again. As they were walking out the door Henry gave them a box full of cookies which Sara gladly took, and Rose called after them to come back soon. It broke Ava’s heart that she knew the next time she would be there it would be without Sara. She hadn’t expected her parents to love her so much, hadn’t expected how heartbroken they’d be when they finally had their fake breakup. In hindsight she should have expected it, how could anyone not love her (fake) girlfriend.

When they were back in their dorm Sara called her parents to let them know the drive had gone safely. Ava sent a quick text to her own parents and sat down by her desk, ready to unwind from the weekend with some school work. She brought up the start of an essay due by the end of the coming week and jumped right into her research for it. She got so consumed by it she didn’t notice that Sara had ended her call until there was a hand on her shoulder and someone’s breath on her neck.

“Whatcha working on?” Sara asked right in her ear, leaning closer to peek at her notes.

“Just an essay,” Ava said, suddenly flustered by Sara’s closeness. Sara nodded thoughtfully but didn’t make to move away. Ava could see her worry her lip in her peripheral view. She appeared almost nervous, though not for the same reason Ava felt her heart beat faster.

“My parents wants us to visit next weekend. I think they really wanted us to visit this weekend but we obviously couldn’t do that because we were visiting your parents, and if it’s too much that’s fine, we can postpone it or just not go until we breakup-”

“Sara, it’s fine. We’ll go see your parents next weekend, it’s the least I can do after everything you did to convince my parents and sister.” Ava turned her chair around so she was facing Sara, making Sara’s hand slide from her left shoulder to her right, and putting Sara’s face much too close to Ava’s. Ava bit her own lip to keep herself from doing something she’d regret.

“Are you sure? ‘Cause it’s in the nature of all three of my family members to ask more questions than you’d ever thought you’d have to deal with, and I get if it’s too much. We started this to help with  _ your _ parents after all.”

Ava sighed and reached a hand out to tuck an errand strand of Sara’s hair behind her ear. “I’m sure,” she said, curving up the corner of her lip ever so slightly. She found Sara being worried about her all too adorable and touching.

“Okay,” Sara exhaled. “Then it’s settled.” Ava nodded, and Sara leaned close, placing a kiss on her cheek, before pulling away from Ava and going back to her bed as if she hadn’t just made Ava’s heart jump in her chest, the spot that Sara’s lips had touched burning in the best possible way. As she tried going back to her work, Ava knew she’d have to find some way to get Sara off her mind before she really fucked up their friendship.  
  


Ava found herself smiling when she saw Sara rushing up to her in their shared class, a cup in each hand. She’d had an earlier class than Sara and therefore hadn’t interacted with her that day up until their shared class. Sara grinned at her as she claimed the seat beside hers, gently putting one of the coffee’s down on Ava’s desk. With a start she realized Sara was wearing her hoodie, the one she’d stolen when they were visiting her parents.

“Hey,” Sara said, grin still on her face, as she got properly settled into her seat.

“Hey,” Ava said, smiling back, unable not to. She cursed her heart for beating faster at the crinkle in Sara’s eyes. Ava almost jumped when she felt a hand on her temple.

“You had a rebel strand there, some hair not in your perfect bun, thought I’d tuck it in for you,” Sara said, amusement evident in her eyes, obviously having caught Ava’s reaction.

“Thanks,” Ava said awkwardly, looking at the classroom to avoid looking at Sara. She felt Sara’s hand brush her shoulder as it left her face. 

When she chanced a glance at Sara again, her eyes were once more drawn to the hoodie she was wearing. “You know you have hoodies of your own right? Or that I have ones that aren’t from high school if you absolutely have to steal them?”

“I like this one,” Sara shrugged, pulling the hoodie more tightly around herself. Ava rolled her eyes to keep her true feelings about Sara in that hoodie from showing.

Right after their professor entered the room, effectively ending most interaction between them for the remainder of the class. Sara would poke her with her pen from time to time to tell a joke or point out something else happening in class but Sara was mostly paying attention, leaving Ava the freedom to do the same.

It wasn’t until the end of the lesson that Ava felt annoyed for the first time that class. She was in the middle of packing up her stuff when one of their classmates walked up to Sara.

“Hey, beautiful,” he started, putting on a dazzling smile as he looked straight at Sara. Just the one small action made Ava’s blood boil. She scolded herself for her jealousy, it wasn’t like she and Sara were  _ actually _ dating.

“Oh, hey,” Sara said, as if only just now noticing him.

“There’s a party over at my house tomorrow, you should come.” The guy laid his hands flat on Sara’s desk and leaned on them, smug charm still in place.

“Hmm,” Sara said, as if actually considering it. Ava clenched her jaw as she tried to act like she wasn’t paying attention. She unclenched it when she felt a gentle hand on top of hers. “Babe, what do you think, wanna go to a party?” Sara asked, turning soft eyes on her. Ava felt herself relax as she gazed into Sara’s eyes. The guy looked between them with a puzzled look before his confidence was back.

“You should bring your friend, the more the merrier,” he said, continuing to smile at Sara.

“Oh, no, she’s not my friend. She’s my girlfriend.” Sara decided to punctuate her statement with a quick peck to the corner of Ava’s mouth. Ava felt her cheeks color and her heart beat faster at the action coupled with Sara’s words. A satisfied feeling rushed through her as she saw realization dawn on the guy, who pulled his hands away from the desk, standing up straight. Not for the first time, Ava found herself wishing Sara’s words weren’t a lie.

“Oh, that’s cool. You should come anyway, it’s good fun!” he said before turning around and catching up with his friends.

“We’ll think about it!” Sara called after him, before turning sparkling eyes back on Ava. She pulled her hand back from Ava’s, and Ava finally felt like she could breathe again.

“You didn’t have to do that, you know,” Ava said as she finished packing up her stuff.

“Do what?” Sara asked.

“Say no to that guy. He was hot, I think,” Ava said, scrunching up her face at her last statement, eliciting a soft giggle from Sara. “You shouldn’t have to turn people down for me, if anyone asks we can just say we’re in an open relationship or something.”

“Like anyone would ever believe that Ava Sharpe would share her girlfriend with anyone else,” Sara laughed. “Besides, I’d rather drink with you than some frat boy looking to score.”

Ava’s heart made another one of those jumps she’d gotten all too familiar with ever since she and Sara started fake dating. She offered Sara a small smile as she tried to calm it. She cursed internally as she finally realized the extent of her feelings for her roommate. She felt her heart speed up even more at the realization. She glanced at Sara, felt the sudden urge to reach for her hand, just hanging by her side. Ava fisted her hand and forced herself to look away from her. She  _ had _ to get away from Sara, or she was sure she’d properly fuck up their friendship before they even made it to Sara’s parents.  
  


The room smelled of red bull and donuts and Ava gave Gary a confused frown. 

“My roommate,” he said awkwardly. “I tried cleaning up but…”

“I thought he was never here.” Ava put her bag on her friend's bed and sat down. 

“Yeah, apparently he came while I was in class and left that mess.” Gary shrugged. “Is everything okay with you though? You don't usually sleep over here.”

Ava sighed. “I just needed a little space.”

Gary fixed his glasses and sat down besides her. “From your girlfriend?”

“She's not my girlfriend Gary. But, yes.” 

Gary nodded to himself, getting up quickly and going to the small fridge in the corner of the room. He grabbed a box of ice cream and two spoons, and dropped back down into the bed. 

“Come on, I have your favorite. Plain vanilla!”

Ava smiled fondly and scooted up closer to Gary so they could share the ice cream. 

“Wanna talk about it?” Gary asked softly after a few minutes of them eating in silence. “Or we could watch something, it's what I was going to do before you called.”

Ava licked the spoon clean, considering the offer, on one hand she felt she needed a break from thinking about Sara and the whole situation but she knew she needed to talk about it with someone that she could be totally honest with. 

“Yeah, I think I do.”

Gary smiled encouragingly and Ava felt a sudden rush of fondness and gratitude for her friend. It was easy enough after that, to spill all of her confused feelings about Sara and her anxieties over lying, something that she wasn't fond of doing in the first place. Gary let her talk until she was done and then grabbed her a bottle of water as Ava leaned back against the headboard feeling better than before. 

“You're a useless lesbian, you know that, right?” Gary asked with a teasing grin. 

“Shut up.”

“You should just talk to her Ava, from what you said I'm pretty sure she likes you too. I mean, I've seen you guys together! Nothing fake there, Ava.”

Ava was about to reply when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She grabbed it, secretly happy to have a distraction. Her happiness was short-lived as she saw it was Sara texting. She quickly sent a text back letting Sara know she was staying at Gary's and dropped her phone on the bed. 

“Aw, your wallpaper is Sara! That's so cute!” Gary grinned. 

Ava couldn't help the faint blush that rose up her cheeks. “We are dating, even if it's fake, it's expected that we use each other as wallpaper!”

“Yes, and that's still adorable but you didn't have to use one where you can clearly see her abs.”

“Shut up Gary, just go on and put a movie!”

Gary chuckled but grabbed his laptop and pressed play on  _ The Lord of the Rings,  _ Ava knew it by heart from all the times he had made her watch it so she just settled into a more comfortable position and let the movie erase all thoughts of Sara and the whole fake dating thing from her mind at least for a few hours.   
  


The wind howling outside as it hit the window made for an annoying noise that was starting to distract Ava from her homework. She sighed, pulling her sweatshirt tighter against herself and trying to get back to her work. The door opening with a bang ruined her concentration and she looked up to find Sara with her hair all over the place. Sara’s face shifted from annoyance to a wide grin as she laid eyes on Ava.

“You’re back!” she said, closing the door behind her with more care than when she had opened it.

“Yeah, I had to escape Gary’s nerd talk at some point,” Ava joked, hoping Sara wouldn’t notice how her lips wouldn’t stop smiling, or how her eyes refused to look away from her.

Sara nodded with a huff. “It’s so cold,” she complained. “How are you just sitting there and not freezing?”

“It’s called warm clothing, you should try it sometime.”

Sara narrowed her eyes at her. “Your hoodie’s dirty.”

“You could wear another.”

Sara seemed to consider it for a moment before giving her response. “Nah.”

Ava shook her head and turned back to the notes in front of her. Sara speaking kept her from it.

“Guess you’ll just have to cuddle me warm.” Ava choked on her own spit at Sara’s unexpected words and the carefree way she said them. “You don’t want your girlfriend to die ‘cause of the cold, do you?”

“I think you’re forgetting the part where you’re not actually my girlfriend.” Ava tried to ignore the way her heart sank at her own words. Staying at Gary’s apparently hadn’t helped as much as she’d hoped it would.

“Fine, guess I’ll freeze to death, but _you’ll_ get to explain to my family why we can’t make it to theirs this weekend,” Sara continued, ignoring Ava’s words.

Ava sighed as she closed her notebooks, it was obvious she wasn’t getting any more work done.

“You are such a drama queen,” she said as she got up from the chair. 

Sara’s grin was back on her face as Ava started walking towards the beds. Before she could do anything else Sara quickly threw her own pillows over to Ava’s bed, before ushering Ava down onto it. Ava assumed Sara would take her own duvet with her next, but instead she threw herself down on the bed next to Ava. Ava kept her arms close to her body and scooted as far into the wall as she could. Sara’s body followed hers, leaving basically no room between them. Despite the cold, Ava felt like her entire body was on fire. Sara grabbed onto Ava’s duvet and pulled it over them, before coaxing Ava’s arms open - all she had to do was gently pull it towards her shoulders for Ava to comply, resting one of her arms around Sara’s body - and snuggling into her side, making herself comfortable. Sara sighed as she settled in the warmth radiating off of Ava’s body. Ava subconsciously rested her other hand on Sara’s waist.

It didn’t take long for Sara’s breath to even out and soft snoring to sound throughout the room. Ava, on the other hand, was wide awake. She tried to keep her breath as even as possible, painfully aware of Sara’s head on her chest. How she managed to sleep with the pounding in Ava’s chest right underneath her ear, Ava didn’t know, but she was grateful for it. Her hand absentmindedly ran up and down Sara’s back as her mind wandered to the coming weekend. She found herself feeling nervous about meeting Sara’s family, and not just because they would be fooling them into thinking they were dating. She was terrified they wouldn’t like her, not that it would matter, after the weekend she wasn’t supposed to be in their lives anymore, and yet it felt important that they did.

Sara made an adorable sound in her sleep that made Ava’s attention fall solely on her, Ava’s thoughts moving away from the weekend, her eyes falling to the sleeping form in her arms. Before she could question it, she leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on the top of Sara’s head, before sleep finally started taking over.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We hope you enjoy this (relatively) quick update! Neither of us have watched a lot of Arrow so we hope the Lance family isn't _too_ ooc!

Ava took a deep breath as she and Sara walked towards Sara’s mother’s house. Sara looked at her reassuringly before opening the door and walking inside the house.

“Mom?” Sara called, kicking off her shoes and stepping further into the house. “Laurel!” she exclaimed only a few steps inside. Ava followed and watched as Sara threw her arms around her sister, who Ava only recognized from the occasional photo. Laurel reciprocated the hug, pulling Sara even closer. Ava couldn’t help but feel she was intruding on the moment and busied herself with removing her shoes and jacket, inspecting a photo of Sara and Laurel on the wall as she waited for them to finish.

“Aves, come say hi to my sister,” Sara said, suddenly only a step away from Ava, reaching a hand out for her. Ava absentmindedly took the offered hand and let Sara pull her closer.

“Ava, this is my sister, Laurel, and Laurel, this is my girlfriend, Ava.” Sara turned to look at her she spoke, and had Ava not known better she would have thought the loving look Sara sent her at the word girlfriend had any truth to it. But she knew better, knew that Sara was a really good actor. Ava wished there was something she could do to convince her heart of what her head knew.

Laurel stretched out her hand and Ava mimi cked her motions, shaking the offered hand. Laurel narrowed her eyes at her, inspecting her. Ava had never felt more self conscious in her life, suddenly worrying that her clothes were not fit to meet Sara’s family, that her hair, out of the usual bun, flowing over her shoulders because Sara had said she liked it that way, was too messy.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you,” Laurel said with a smile as the withdrew her hand.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Ava said, offering an anxious smile in return.

Sara pulled her closer, wrapped an arm around her waist and rested her head on her shoulder as she whispered in her ear. “Relax,” was all she said, breath tickling Ava’s neck. The single word coupled with Sara’s closeness was enough to slightly ease her anxiety, replacing it with the panic she always got from being so close to Sara instead.

“Sara! So nice of you to finally visit,” a new voice said, drawing Ava’s attention to an older woman she presumed had to be Sara’s mother.

“Mom!” Sara said, untangling herself from Ava in order to give the woman a hug.

“And this must be Ava,” Sara’s mom said as they pulled out of the hug.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Lance,” Ava said, making to shake her hand.

“Please, call me Dinah,” she said as she ignored Ava’s hand, instead pulling her into a hug that Ava awkwardly reciprocated. “Your father should be here any minute, he was just finishing his shift when your sister talked to him a little while ago,” Dinah said, turning to Sara.

Sara nodded. “Dinner smells amazing,” she said, walking further into the house.

“Why don’t you girls go unpack while I finish it up? Laurel, go with them,” Dinah said, patting Sara’s shoulder before she disappeared back towards where the kitchen must have been.

“Come on,” Laurel said, linking arms with her sister. Ava tried not to be too disappointed that Sara now had no free hand for her to hold, with Sara’s other hand holding her bag.

“The guest rooms are right upstairs,” Sara said, smiling at Ava over her shoulder.

“Please remember that your room is wall to wall with mine,” Laurel said with a raised eyebrow, bringing a blush to Ava’s cheeks despite Ava knowing there was no chance of anything happening anyway.

“Why do we even need to unpack anyway, we’re only staying here a couple nights,” Sara complained as they entered the room. Ava found it impossible to keep a fond smile off her lips.

“Don’t let mom hear you say that,” Laurel snorted.

Ava opened her bag a few feet away from the pair of sisters, wanting to give Sara time to catch up with her sister. She placed the bag on the edge of the bed, trying not to think about sleeping in said bed next to Sara. Sleeping next to Sara at her parents’ place had been made easier by the consumption of whiskey, but sleeping next to her the other day had been near impossible, especially as Sara had only cuddled closer to her when they woke up, still complaining about the cold. Only Ava’s early class had saved her from staying there, wrapped up in Sara, wishing to wake up like that every day. 

She didn’t imagine waking up next to her would be any easier here, especially with no classes to excuse her from lingering in the morning, and falling sleep would be made no easier either, especially since there was an unwritten no drinking rule during Lance family gatherings so she wouldn’t have intoxication on her side. She neatly put all her clothes into a drawer as she let the thoughts run through her head, trying to make her movements not be rigid, to make it seem like she wasn’t dying just at the thought of sleeping next to Sara again. She almost jumped when an arm slid around her waist, Sara’s face popping up in front of her, looking worried.

Sara put a gentle hand on her cheek as she looked into her eyes. “You okay, babe?” Ava’s heart leapt at the nickname, despite knowing it was only used because Laurel was a mere few feet away. “Everything’s gonna be fine.” Sara couldn’t know what Ava was thinking about, could she? “You’re literally every parent’s dream.”

“Right,” Ava said, relieved that she hadn’t been called out on her sharing a bed panic. It wasn’t like Sara’s assumption about where her anxiety stemmed from was untrue, she was much more worried about meeting Sara’s family than she should be, but the momentary bed panic had taken dinner almost off her mind.

Sara stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to Ava’s cheek, before grabbing Ava’s hand and pulling her towards the door. Ava noticed, as Sara’s insistent hand turned her around, that Laurel was looking at them with soft delight. It only made Ava feel all the guiltier about dragging Sara into all of this, lying to her family, and about the time when they would all find out Sara and Ava could never last.

“Let’s move to the living room and wait for dad,” Sara said enthusiastically, reaching a hand out for Laurel’s as well, dragging both of them through the house.

For some reason that Ava didn’t know, Sara and Laurel decided to sit on the smaller of the living room’s two couches, ending in Sara sitting down and pulling Ava on top of her lap with Laurel sitting to their left, not enough space for all three of them to properly sit. Ava put an arm on top of the couch, around Sara’s shoulders, as Sara pulled slightly on her knees to make her face Laurel more. Ava swallowed as one of Sara’s hands rested on her waist, pulling her closer, and the other grabbed hold of Ava’s, resting on Ava’s thighs. Ava spotted a loose thread in the couch next to Laurel’s shoulder that she watched intently, the sway of the thread in the air somewhat distracting her from all the points in which her body touched Sara’s.

Ava was only brought out of her trance when Sara lightly pushed on her, making her slide off of Sara’s lap automatically.

“Daddy!” Sara exclaimed, jumping to her feet and running over to the room’s newest addition.

“Hey babygirl,” the man said, wrapping his arms around her.

“Come meet my girlfriend!” Sara said, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the couch. Did Sara have to sound so excited when talking about her? As if she was planning on them to properly get to know her, as if she was actually excited for Ava to meet her family.

“Hello sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said awkwardly as Sara presented her, holding a hand out for Sara’s dad to shake.

He shook her hand and looked her over. Ava felt like she was going to combust any second, she didn’t know what she’d do if he showed any sign of not liking her. “Pleasure’s all mine,” he nodded. “And please, anyone special to my little girl calls me Quentin.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Dinah called from another room.

Sara pulled Ava into the seat next to hers, which Ava was grateful for. As much as being close to Sara only served to cloud her mind, Sara was the only one here she knew and being close to her was the only thing keeping her from actually panicking. Sara brushed their knees together and Ava focused on the press of Sara against her, letting it ground her. 

“So, what do you study, Ava?” Dinah asked. 

“Criminal Justice, then hopefully law school. I’m hoping someday to become a part of the FBI,” Ava said hesitantly, afraid of what Sara’s parents would think of her future career goals. 

“Didn’t you warn your girlfriend we’re in the presence of a cop?” Laurel asked Sara, giggling. Ava panicked as her eyes flitted from Laurel to Quentin. Sara grabbed her hand and rubbed her thumb over the back of it soothingly. 

“Judging by how Sara speaks of you the feds could only be better with you in them,” Quentin said with an awkward smile. 

“She’s going to be amazing at it,” Sara said, staring at her with a fond smile and sparkling eyes. Ava felt a blush creep on her cheeks as she returned Sara’s smile. 

“And what about you, Sara? How are your classes going?” Dinah asked, looking at Sara. 

“It’s going good,” Sara said, stuffing food into her mouth to keep her from having to say anything else. Ava shook her head. 

“She’s doing amazing, she’s at the top of all of her classes,” Ava said, her turn to look fondly at Sara as she spoke. 

“Only because someone keeps being a pain in the butt and pushing me, even in the classes she’s not in,” Sara laughed. 

“You’d do great without me, Sara, that’s on you.” Sara looked down, the hint of a blush on her cheek. Ava had the sudden urge to kiss it. 

“Yeah, but it’s more fun with you,” Sara grinned. Ava looked down at her food to avoid doing something stupid like kissing her. 

“Sara! Why did you try to downplay your grades?” Dinah asked, half happy, half accusing. 

“It’s not that big a deal,” Sara shrugged, poking at her food. 

“I think it’s great you got someone to challenge you, baby,” Quentin piped in, just as awkwardly as his daughter. 

“Laurel’s going to law school,” Sara said, changing the subject. “Bet you guys have a lot to talk about.”

“Sara never wants to hear about law,” Laurel complained. 

“All I need to know is that if I get into trouble Laurel can get me out,” Sara shrugged, reaching past Ava for the plate of vegetables. 

“That’s not the kind of lawyer I’m going to be!  I’m going to prosecute criminals, not get them off!”

“Who said anything about being a criminal? You never know who might frame me for murder.” Ava couldn’t help a giggle as Laurel huffed, shaking her head at her sister’s antics. 

The rest of dinner went by with more questions poking at Ava’s life and her intentions with Sara, a lot of which were answered by Sara as she gave a stern look at her family who appeared unbothered. 

  
  


They decided on an evening game of poker before heading to bed. Ava was a little apprehensive about playing something in which she essentially had to hide her thoughts from everyone around her - as if just pretending to be Sara’s girlfriend wasn’t hard enough. As the game progressed though her competitive side took over and she found herself relaxing and actually having fun. Watching Sara interacting with her family showed a side of her that Ava hadn’t seen before, which only served to make Ava fall for her even harder - wait, when had this stopped being a crush and moved on to  _ falling _ ? Ava was quick to throw that thought into a box, lock the box, and throw away the key to hopefully never be found.

Laurel and Dinah claimed the bigger of the two living room couches, leaving enough space between them so they couldn’t peek at each other’s cards. Quentin pulled up a chair to the table, and Ava was directed to sit on the smaller couch. Sara sat down on the floor next to Ava’s legs, joking that if she were to sit on the couch Ava wouldn’t be able to help herself from peeking at her cards.

Ava thought the game passed by quickly, time passing faster as she was having more fun than she imagined she would. She couldn’t say she’d played a lot of poker in her life and would have been happy to just sit back and let the game unfold, but it soon became apparent that Sara was set on winning and it immediately brought Ava’s competitive side out, she never could resist a competition with Sara. Lying about her cards was much easier than lying about feelings for Sara and she found herself faking tells, which drove Sara wild, saying it was unfair how good she was at poker when she was “one of the shittiest liars” Sara knew. 

Everyone but Sara and Ava had been beaten out of the game. Sara sat half turned against Ava on the floor to, in Sara’s words, “be sure you don’t cheat and peek over my shoulder.” Ava looked down at her cards then up to Sara, Sara’s eyes watching her carefully. Sara poked her tongue out and bit it in thought as she glanced back down at her cards.

“All in,” she announced, pushing the remainder of her small pile of fake money into the pot.

Ava looked down at her cards again. She was pretty sure she could win with her hand but there was a still a small chance Sara could have gotten better cards. She looked back at Sara. Her eyes were narrowed at Ava, watching her every move, tongue still slightly poking out of her mouth. She lightly tapped her thigh with one hand, Ava didn’t think she even realized she was doing it. Ava was almost certain Sara didn’t have anything higher than her and hesitantly pushed the rest of her own fake money into the pot.

“Show your cards, Lance,” she said, trying to come off as nonchalant. 

Sara smirked as she put her cards on the table, showing her hand. Ava felt her heart beat faster as she took in the cards: four jacks and a five. She looked down at her own cards then up at Sara’s smug smile.

“Good cards,” she said, biting her lip as she lowered her hand to the table, watching Sara’s eyes as she slowly revealed her cards. “But not good enough.” She could see the moment Sara saw her victory snatched away, her mouth falling open just a bit and eyes going wide as she took in Ava’s four queens and a nine.

The cheers from the rest of the Lances and Laurel high five-ing her caught her off guard. She’d forgotten for a moment that they had actually been playing with Sara’s family, too caught up in her own game with Sara.

Sara rolled her eyes and jumped up from the floor, dropping down smoothly on top of Ava’s lap, wrapping her arms around Ava’s neck.

“To the victor goes the spoils,” she whispered, pressing a kiss to the corner of Ava’s mouth. 

For a moment Ava tensed, not expecting Sara’s sudden closeness or kiss, but she reasoned it’s what a girlfriend would do, especially when that girlfriend’s name was Sara Lance, and it only served to strengthen their story. 

"It's about time this one lost a game, she's way too smug about being the self appointed queen of poker," Laurel said with a shake of her head.

"It's not my fault you suck at poker," Sara replied with a grin. Focusing on their interaction helped Ava force herself to relax at Sara's close proximity.

“Did you have fun losing?” Ava asked smugly, eager for something to occupy her mind with that wasn’t Sara sitting on top of her.

“Pft I let you win,” Sara responded, tucking away a strand of hair behind Ava’s ear.

“Sure you did,” Ava said, voice faltering slightly as she got distracted by the hand now resting on her cheek.

“Want a rematch? Maybe play a much more fun version,” Sara said, wriggling her eyebrows, drawing a blush to Ava’s cheeks at thoughts of exactly what version that would be.

“And that’s the cue for me to leave,” Quentin said, jumping up from the couch.

Within moments Sara was off of Ava’s lap, walking with the rest of the Lance women to follow Quentin to the door.

“Night, dad,” Sara said, pulling the man into a hug. 

When he let her go she made her way back to Ava, sitting back down on the floor but this time right in front of Ava’s legs. She leaned her head against Ava as Dinah and Laurel made their way back to the couch. Ava’s hand absentmindedly went to play with Sara’s hair. By the time Ava realized it Sara sighed and leaned into the touch. Ava couldn’t bring herself to pull her hand away.

 

They went to bed after what felt like hours. The anxiety from earlier returned to Ava’s stomach when she once more laid eyes on the bed they would be sharing. Sara carelessly dropped down onto it, bouncing a little on the mattress as she did so. When all Ava did was stand still and continue to stare at the bed Sara used her arms to raise her upper body off the bed, looking at Ava.

“You okay?” she asked. Ava was starting to dislike the question, it felt like no matter where they went it was a question Sara had to ask her nowadays, like Ava couldn’t be in her general vicinity without panicking. She missed the days when her crush on her roommate was small enough to shove under an imaginary rug, when she could be with Sara without Sara having to ask her those cursed words.

“I’m fine,” she gulped, tentatively closing the distance between herself and the bed. 

Sara crawled to the side to accommodate her. She placed a hand on Ava’s arm when Ava was lying next to her. “If you’re not feeling well or you’re not comfortable with lying to everyone we can go back tomorrow, make up some emergency.”

“Sara! Your sister is wall to wall with us,” Ava whispered.

“Maybe we should give her something to complain about,” Sara said, amusement and mischief in her eyes. 

Ava blinked up at her before drawing her eyes to a point behind Sara’s head, certain if she kept staring into those eyes she might take Sara up on the offer. “I’m fine, but thank you for asking.”

Sara stared at her a moment more before shaking her head and withdrawing her arm, falling onto her back and drawing the covers up to her chin. 

“G’night, Aves,” she yawned. 

“Good night, Sara,” Ava said, eyes drawn back to Sara’s face, watching as her eyes slowly closed as she snuggled further into the covers. Ava longed to have Sara snuggling into her. 


	7. Chapter 7

Ava woke up to a now almost familiar weight on her right side. Both of her hands were wrapped around Sara, with Sara seemingly having snuggled as far into her as she could. Her blonde hair tickled Ava’s neck, and she could feel her breath on her collarbone. One of Sara’s hands was fisted above her chest and the other was buried in between their bodies. Ava took a deep breath as she became more awake, and could smell a mix of Sara’s shampoo and Sara. Unconsciously she started running her hand, that had up until now been resting on Sara’s lower back, up and down Sara’s spine. Sara shivered underneath her and somehow snuggled even closer.

Ava knew Sara was awake when she started lightly humming against her skin.

“We should get up,” Ava whispered, her hand never ceasing its movements.

“Or we could just stay here forever,” Sara mumbled, rubbing her head sleepily against Ava. Ava couldn’t help but chuckle. “I never realized you were so handsy, Sharpe.”

Ava’s hand stopped abruptly. All she was doing was running it up and down Sara’s back, right? She took a moment to take proper account of all of her limbs. She only understood what Sara meant when Sara flexed the muscle under Ava’s other hand. With a start — and a sudden blush — she ripped her hand away from Sara’s butt. 

Of course, Laurel picked that moment to barge through the door. “Please tell me you’re both fully clothed,” she said in a rush, letting out a relieved sigh when she took in their very much clothed bodies.

Ava quickly placed her hand back on Sara, higher this time, trying her best not to look guilty. 

“Aw, you guys look adorable,” Laurel said, fishing her phone out from her pocket to take a picture. Ava buried her face in Sara’s hair, slightly afraid of what exactly her face would look like if caught on camera.

“Laurel, go away,” Sara groaned, not even bothering to turn her head to look at her sister.

“Mom told me to tell you it’s breakfast, she already let you sleep through making it on account of you actually bringing a girl home.” Sara’s hand moved from Ava’s chest to a pillow behind her, which she threw at Laurel with surprising accuracy for not looking at her. Laurel rolled her eyes and started walking out of the room. “I’ll tell mom you’ll be with us in ten,” she chimed, before closing the door behind her so Sara couldn't throw any more pillows at her.

“I guess we’re getting up,” Ava said amusedly. She was secretly relieved that that meant Sara wouldn’t be completely pressed up against her, clouding her mind with her closeness. The moment Sara groaned and rolled away, however, she immediately missed Sara’s warmth against her.

 

When they joined Laurel and Dinah at the table, Laurel was standing leaned over her mother’s shoulder, her phone held up in front of them. Dinah had a fond smile on her lips as she looked from whatever was on the phone to Sara and Ava. Sara narrowed her eyes and strode over to them, ripping the phone out of Laurel’s hands.

“Seriously?” she asked, looking down on the phone.

“You better not delete that!” Laurel said, trying to get her phone back from her sister, who was doing a good job of evading her hands. “That picture’s going in your wedding album.” Ava tried not to choke at Laurel’s words.

Sara waved her off with one hand as she held the phone in her other one, inspecting the picture. “Relax, I’m sending it to myself. It’s cute.” Sara looked up at Ava as she said the last bit, a soft smile on her lips. Ava couldn’t help a small smile in return. When she tore her eyes away from Sara, she noticed Laurel staring at her with inspecting eyes. She caught Ava’s gaze and smiled at her, eyes still slightly narrowed in thought, before she turned her attention back on her sister.

“Give me back my phone,” she demanded, trying once more to reach for it. Sara quickly evaded her grasp but relented and offered the phone back before taking a seat at the table, motioning for Ava to join her.

 

"You girls run along, and I’ll clean this up,” Dinah said when they were all done eating.

“You don’t have to do that, mom, we can help!” Sara protested.

“We should help,” Ava agreed, already moving to pick things up from the table, despite not knowing where any of it would go.

“Go!” Dinah shooed them away, playfully threatening to hit her daughter with a rag.

Sara chuckled but did as she was told, pulling a hesitant Ava by the hand with her. Sara threw herself onto the couch, smiling up at Ava before tugging her down onto her lap. Ava wondered if she was ever going to get used to that, but if the way her heart jumped in her chest every time was any indication, the answer to that was no.

“Hey, Sara, can we talk for a second?” Laurel asked.

“No. I just sat down!” Sara scrunched up her face as she wrapped her arms around Ava’s waist and rested her chin on Ava’s shoulder. “Plus, I’m comfy.”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Please?”

“Fiiiine,” Sara sighed dramatically, nudging Ava off her lap so she could get up.

Ava watched the pair of sisters walk into the next room with a small smile, she was really enjoying watching Sara interact with her family, especially her sister. It was clear with every interaction that they loved each other deeply. 

She took her phone out of her pocket to pass the time, and almost immediately it buzzed with a text from Allie, followed by a call. Ava answered the phone with a sigh, thinking about how ironic it was that her sister called just when she was thinking about the Lance sisters.

“Hey, Allie,” she greeted her sister.

“Ava! Just wanted to check if you remember cousin Patricia’s wedding? You know the one we were all invited to a few weeks ago but then never mentioned again… Oh, and you’re taking Sara as your plus one, right?”

“Hello to you too,” Ava said, smiling into the phone, before her sister’s words fully registered in her mind. She had, in fact, forgotten — to be fair, she had suddenly gotten a fake girlfriend to worry about instead. A fake girlfriend who her sister was currently asking her if she was taking with to the wedding. “I don’t know, why are you asking that now?”

“Because the wedding is in like two weeks and mom may have already told everyone that you’re bringing your girlfriend.” Allie’s voice was carefree as she said it, as if the words didn’t send Ava’s heart into overdrive. She didn’t even know if she and Sara would still be “dating” in two weeks, let alone if Sara wanted to accompany her to a  _ wedding _ .

“What?! I haven’t even asked Sara…”

“Well, you better do it soon. Anyways, I gotta go, but I’m excited that we both have dates for this family gathering! I think I would murder cousin Stuart if he tried to tell me that cousins aren’t really related one more time. See ya, sis!”

Ava pulled the phone away from her ear and shook her head. Her sister could be a lot sometimes. She felt a pang in her heart for the thousandth time at how excited her family seemed to be about Sara.

She considered going to the kitchen to ask if Dinah wanted any help finishing up to take her mind off it, but instead just pulled up a mindless game on her phone as she waited for Sara to come back. Ava got so lost in the game, she didn’t notice anyone else joining the room until the couch was weighed down next to her. When she turned her head, she was looking straight at Sara. There was something off though, something Ava couldn’t quite pinpoint until Sara smiled at her and leaned over to look at her phone. Sara had to  _ lean _ over to look at her phone, not just slightly adjust the position of her head, because there was actual _space_ on the couch between them. Ava couldn’t remember the last time they sat so far apart, despite Sara really only sitting a few inches away from her.

“What does Allie want?” Sara asked, bringing Ava’s attention back to the phone, where she currently had no less than three messages from her darling sister.

Before Ava could answer, Dinah entered from the kitchen, taking in the three girls currently occupying the living room.

“Can we talk?” Ava asked, once more looking at Sara. “Outside?”

“Sure,” Sara said, jumping back up from the couch. Ava had gotten so used to Sara’s constant flirting that the simple word in response to talking alone threw her off guard.

 

They stepped outside into the front yard, Ava nervously playing with the hem of her shirt.

“What did you wanna talk about?” Sara asked, leaning against a wall. 

Ava took a deep breath before diving right into the ‘why’. “So, my cousin is getting married, and I’d completely forgotten about it, I don’t even have anything to wear, but Allie called when you and Laurel were talking, and the wedding is in two weeks from now, and apparently mom’s talked about you, and me bringing you, to  _ everyone _ , and I totally get that you probably don’t want to accompany me to a  _ wedding _ , we can bre—“ Sara’s fingers on Ava’s mouth stopped her ramble before it could evolve even more. 

“Aves, don’t forget to breathe,” Sara said with a small chuckle. 

“I totally get if you want to arrange a breakup before the wedding,” Ava finished when Sara removed her fingers, taking a deep breath. 

“Are you kidding? Weddings are so much fun, and, assuming your family doesn’t skim out on them, there’ll be great  _ free _ food, who would say no to that?” Sara said, seemingly more excited about the wedding than Ava. “Besides, someone has to outdo the bride and groom,” Sara shrugged, eyes mischievous. 

Ava’s lips turned up in a small smile. “You’re sure?” she asked. She wanted to make sure she wasn’t dragging Sara along to places Sara didn’t want, but truth be told that was only half of the reason she asked. The other half was that the more time they spent together, the higher the chance that she did something irrevocably stupid went, and the harder it would be when the breakup finally came. 

“We’ll go be the hottest couple at the wedding, and then we will inform everyone that sadly there will never be a Sharpe-Lance wedding, and we go our separate ways. Well, we’ll still share a dorm and all, but you know,” Sara said, scrunching up her face in thought. 

Ava giggled, before her face turned to panic. 

“Sara?” they heard Dinah call. 

Ava turned panicked eyes to Sara. If Dinah had heard anything of what they said they were toast. Before she could dwell on it further, Sara grabbed the front of her sweater and pulled her close, before sliding a hand up to her neck to pull her head down. Ava’s mouth fell open in surprise, and a moment later Sara’s lips met hers, and Sara’s tongue slowly made its way into her mouth. Ava’s body froze, until she felt a warm hand on hers, guiding her hand to Sara’s ass. After that, her body moved on autopilot, one hand coming up into Sara’s hair to pull her closer as she pushed her body into Sara’s, trapping Sara between herself and the building. Sara moaned as Ava sucked on her tongue, before Sara lightly bit her lip. 

“Oh, there you are—  _ Sara _ , you could have said you were going to be a while!”

Ava jumped away from Sara at Dinah’s voice. She didn’t know if she were more mortified that they had almost been caught talking about their fake relationship, or that Sara’s  _ mother _ had caught them making out. 

“Sorry,” Sara said sheepishly, reaching a hand out for Ava’s. “We didn’t mean to stay so long.”

Ava couldn’t meet Dinah’s eyes for the entirety of the walk back inside. 

When they were back inside, Sara pulled Ava onto her lap as they sat down. Ava should not have been as relieved as she was at the familiar action. Laurel sent them a look that Ava couldn’t quite decipher, but left her stomach feeling unsettled. As if she sensed it, Sara’s hand started rubbing soothing circles on her belly. 

 

They spent the time waiting for Quentin to get off work just talking, Dinah trying to catch up with her girls before they both left again. When asked about future plans, Sara mentioned they were going to a wedding together. Laurel looked almost apprehensive, whereas Dinah looked excited. She told them that, while weddings are exciting, she hoped it was a long while until the two of them married - but married or not, Ava was officially part of the family. Ava didn’t know how to one day tell her that a wedding would never happen and that she would never truly be a part of Sara’s family.

 

When Quentin let them know he’d soon be there, Sara and Ava were put in charge of setting in the table. Sara was currently looking at one of the cupboards with murder in her eyes. 

“Something wrong?” Ava asked, amused. 

Sara placed her hands on the counter and turned her head to look at her. “The table pads are out of reach,” she said, turning narrowed eyes back on the cupboard. 

Ava, still an amused smile on her lips, walked up behind Sara and placed a hand on the counter next to her, standing up on her toes and half leaning into Sara as she effortlessly grabbed the items. 

“Here you go,” she said, placing the table pads down in front of Sara, body still enveloping hers. 

“Thanks,” Sara said and turned around, clearing her throat. Her tongue poked out between her lips as she looked at Ava, and Ava’s eyes were automatically drawn to the action. A noise behind her made them jump apart. When Ava looked at what had caused the interruption, she found Laurel looking at them, her head leaning towards her shoulder and eyes narrowed. When she met Ava’s eyes, she quickly went back to finishing whatever it was she had been doing.

 

Dinner went by relatively quickly, and Quentin left again not too soon after, having to catch an early night as he had an early shift the next day. Dinah decided to go to bed a little while later, saying she had a lot of papers to grade after the girls left the next day and she needed to be rested for it, leaving only Ava, Sara, and Laurel left in the living room.

“Stay here,” Sara said, leaving her place next to Ava, where she’d spent most of the day.

Ava watched Sara disappear towards the kitchen, eyes absentmindedly traveling lower, until Sara was completely out of view.

She caught Laurel staring at her again, before she moved closer, sitting on Ava’s right side in the big couch. She looked like she wanted to say something, but before Ava could ask her what, Sara reentered the room with a bucket of ice cream and three bowls. She put them down on the table as she let herself fall to the couch on Ava’s left side. Ava once more found herself surprised by Sara not simply using her lap as a seat. 

“Who wants ice cream?” Sara asked cheerfully, already removing the lid of the bucket. 

“I know you’re strong, but frozen ice cream might just defeat even you,” Ava teased, watching as Sara tried her best to get more than just a small piece. 

“Fine, we’ll wait,” Sara groaned, pulling her legs up in front of her on the couch as she let her body hit the back of it. 

Ava smiled at her, and the hand moving to brush some hair out of Sara’s face had nothing to do with their fake relationship. Ava wanted to believe that was also true for the way Sara’s head leaned into her hand. 

“No wonder you’ve managed to convince everyone you’re dating.” 

Ava drew her hand back as if she had been burned at Laurel’s words.  _ How could she know? _

“It’s okay,” Sara said calmly, gently taking Ava’s hand in hers. “Laurel knows.”

“Your talk earlier…” 

Sara only nodded in response, thumb rubbing soothing circles into the back of Ava’s hand. 

_ So that was why Laurel had been looking at her the whole day. _ Ava swallowed — had Laurel also managed to find out about Ava’s very real feelings for Sara? And, more importantly, had she told her?

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sara said, touching a hand to Ava’s forehead. “She won’t tell anyone,” she promised, misreading Ava’s panic. 

“So, now that that’s out of the way, I believe it’s my duty as big sister to show embarrassing baby pictures, fake relationship or not!” Laurel exclaimed, whipping out her phone. 

“No, you definitely do not have to do that,” Sara said, trying to lean over Ava to steal her sister’s phone. 

Ava wrapped one arm around Sara’s waist and used the other to try to lock down her arms. “You saw my baby pictures, it’s only fair I see yours. Especially considering there’s no childhood bedroom for me to explore. Or hoodies for me to steal,” she said, clearly amused. 

“Fine,” Sara huffed, giving in to Ava’s arms. Which now meant that Sara was half on her lap and when she relaxed, her head fell to Ava’s shoulder. It should not have felt as natural as it did. 

“You have your baby pictures on your phone?” Ava asked, frowning as she looked at the back of Laurel’s phone.

“No, mom’s got a whole album on facebook of our baby pictures,” Laurel snorted.

“How did I not know about that?” Ava said, eyes lighting up as she looked at Sara.

The expression Sara sent her could only be described as mortified. “You are  _ not _ befriending my mom on facebook.”

Ava didn’t say anything, just raised her eyebrows, a teasing smile on her lips.

“Found it!” Laurel exclaimed, and then all attention was on the phone in her hands.

The first picture Laurel showed her was of a much younger Dinah in the hospital with a small baby in her arms and a toddler looking at the baby in awe. 

“Daddy took the picture,” Laurel said with a smile, looking at her and Sara’s younger selves.

“You were so cute,” Ava said, unable to take her eyes off of the picture.

“I was freaking adorable,” Sara said, leaning across her to get a better look.

“Some things never change,” Ava mused, looking at Sara with adoration.

She caught Laurel watching her and immediately avoided her eyes, focusing on the phone once again. They scrolled through a few more pictures, Laurel promptly informing all the details she knew about when and where the picture was taken. Ava was acutely aware of all the places Sara's body was touching her, and it made focusing and keeping her feelings in check extra hard. She couldn't help but gasp when Laurel pulled up the next photo, showing a young Sara fully dressed as Peter Pan. 

“Oh my god! What's the story behind this one? You look so cute!” Ava exclaimed as she took the picture in — from the green tunic child Sara wore, to the fake mud on her face, ending at the toy sword hanging from her waist. 

“I was Peter Pan in the school play,” Sara said, eyes fixed on the picture.

“Aww, please tell me someone recorded it.” 

“There was nothing to record,” Sara sighed, resting a hand on Ava’s knee. “I got up on the stage and just froze, couldn’t remember any of my lines.”

“What’d you do?”

“Well, I broke out into a tap dance, of course, and then I ran off stage crying.”

“You can dance?” The image of a tiny Sara tap dancing was more adorable than it had any right to be.

“Sara! You never took your fake girlfriend dancing?” Laurel asked, scandalized.

“I’ll show her  _ all _ my moves in two weeks time,” Sara shrugged.

“What happens in two weeks?”

“Ava’s cousin is getting married,” Sara said matter of factly.

“And you’re going together?” Laurel’s eyes widened and her mouth fell half open in shock.

“Duh,” was all Sara said in response. “Anyway, who wants ice cream?” Sara asked, pulling back from Ava to once more try to move ice cream into a bowl, this time much more successfully. 

Laurel didn’t much look like she wanted to drop the subject, but to Ava’s relief, she accepted the bowl of ice cream her sister gave her and made no more mention of it.

 

The three of them were deep into a conversation about nothing in particular, long since moved on from baby pictures, when Laurel’s phone dinged. She opened it and let out a “whoa”, making both of the other women in the room curious.

“What?” Sara asked, eyes going to the back of the phone.

“Remember Shawn?”

“My high school boyfriend Shawn?”

“That’s the one. My friend’s at a party and he’s there, and,” Laurel said, turning the phone so Ava and Sara could see. Ava couldn’t tell why Laurel had had the reaction she did, but Sara’s matching “whoa” made her assume they found him attractive.

“Why did I break up with him again?” Sara asked, pulling the phone closer. 

The action made Ava’s heart drop. Realistically, she knew that Sara would never see her as something other than a friend, but, due to her own stupidity, she had somehow started hoping that Sara’s small touches and remarks actually meant something. Sara’s reaction to the picture served as a reminder that Sara could have any boy or girl she wanted, so why would she ever settle for someone like Ava?

“Because you caught him making out with someone else under the bleachers.” Laurel’s voice brought Ava out of her thoughts.

“Right,” Sara sighed, pushing the phone back to her sister. “Good riddance.”

 

As Sara and Ava were on their way out the next morning, Laurel caught Ava’s arm, pulling her to a stop as Sara continued towards the car.

“Ava, I need to tell you something. Sara, she’s been hurt before, and I don’t want it to happen again,” she said, searching Ava’s eyes.

“Laurel, you know we aren’t really dating, Sara doesn’t like me like that.“ Ava averted her gaze as she spoke, trying not to show her grief at the fact. 

“I know that’s what you both think. Look, just try not to hurt her, okay? If you hurt my baby sister, I will have to hurt you, and I’d rather not because I really like you. Oh, and Ava? Try not to let yourself get hurt either.”

Ava nodded, unsure of how exactly to respond to Laurel’s request. Ava knew she couldn’t hurt Sara like that, that would require Sara to actually like her, but Laurel seemed so insistent that Ava could do nothing but agree to acquiesce to her request. She had accepted that she wasn't leaving this whole situation with her heart intact.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Ava ran a hand through her hair, trying to keep from sighing — she wasn't fond of shopping at all. Having Sara with her was a comfort, albeit a small one. They entered the store and Sara immediately went towards a red dress to their left. Ava followed her, only half looking at the other dresses, knowing she wouldn't exactly like any of them.

“Hey, Aves, what do you think of this one?” Sara asked, showing her a deep blue dress.

“It's pretty.”

“Come on, let's go try those on!” Sara grabbed Ava's hand and Ava just let herself be pulled into the changing rooms.

She made quick work of taking her clothes off and putting the dress on, feeling weirdly exposed the whole time. She exited the changing room feeling awkwardly tall in the dress.

“You look great!” Sara said, making Ava look up.

Ava sure didn't feel great, but Sara looked so amazing in her red dress that Ava forgot about her worries for a second. “You look amazing,” she said a little breathlessly.

“I know, we're gonna be the hottest couple around,” Sara smirked.  “I feel almost sorry for the bride and groom.”

Ava smiled weakly, still trying to get comfortable inside her dress.

“Hey Aves, you okay?”

“I'm fine. Do you want to try anything else on?”

“Yeah I saw a black dress back there, hang on.”

Ava quickly changed out of the dress, feeling a lot better with her jeans and flannel on. She found somewhere to sit and mostly watched as Sara tried on a few other dresses, looking amazing in all of them as usual.

“I think I'm going with the red one,” Sara said, dropping herself beside Ava. “Are you keeping the blue one?”

“I think so.”

“You don't sound so sure, come on, you should try some others on if you're not sure.”

Ava bit her lip and tried to keep herself from fidgeting. “This one is fine, I'm not a big fan of dresses anyway.”

Sara bumped their shoulders together gently. “You don't have to wear one if you don't want to.”

“But I do, it's a wedding, I can't show up in jeans and a t-shirt, my family would kill me if I tried.”

Sara nodded with a thoughtful expression. “Come with me.”

Ava let Sara drag her around the store for the second time, only a little curious about where they were going, mostly happy to follow Sara anywhere. They came to a stop on the other side of the store, and to Ava's surprise, in front of a row of suits of various types.

“How about you wear a suit instead? Maybe a tux? I bet you look amazing in one of those,” Sara said with a smile.

“You don't think it'll be weird?”

“Not at all. And I'll be there to glare at and even punch, if necessary, anyone who complains.  Go on, go pick one and try it on.”

Ava smiled a little at the protective note in Sara's voice and stepped forward to browse the clothes. “I've never really liked dresses but I sort of just accepted it was something I'll have to deal with,” she said almost to herself.

“It doesn't have to be like that, Aves. You should feel comfortable in what you wear.” Sara rested a hand on Ava's lower back and grabbed a white dress shirt with the other. “Go on and try this with those pants.”

Ava did as she suggested, grabbing a jacket on her way to the changing rooms. Ava came out of the changing room feeling excited and anxious. The clothes fit her well enough for a random suit at the mall, and she didn't feel exposed or extremely awkward like with dresses.

“Wow,” Sara said quietly. “I think I might have a heart attack if you try on the tux.” She grinned. “How does it feel?”

“Good. Really good.” Ava looked at her reflection in the mirror and couldn't contain a small pleased smile, she liked what she saw. Sara's encouraging smile behind her wasn't bad either.

“So you're going with a suit? If so we should probably find something better.”

Ava glanced at her reflection one more time and nodded. “Yeah, I think I will. It might draw a lot of attention from some of my cousins but… I don't think I care.”

Sara smiled proudly. “That's my girl! And don't worry about them, I have a mean glare that will throw them off. Or I can wear a suit too?”

“No, you already chose your dress and you look amazing in it. I'll just deal with it.” Ava squeezed Sara's hand. “But thank you.”

Sara squeezed her hand back, still smiling. Ava's stomach jumped pleasantly at that, and she was happy that Sara immediately turned to go find other suits and didn't see the look on her face.

Ava tried a few more suits, none of which fit her tall frame properly, but she found that shopping went a lot better when she didn't hate what she was buying. She had just discarded another suit for being too small and was ready to go after another one when she noticed that Sara wasn't following her, and instead was sitting on a chair with her eyes closed.

“Sara? Are you okay?”

Sara opened her eyes slowly and nodded. “Yeah, I'm fine.”

Ava frowned. “You don't look fine. I can finish shopping some other time.”

“No, no, it's okay,” Sara said, standing up.

There was a loud bang from somewhere and Sara flinched, a hand going to her temple. Ava put the clothes she was holding down and grabbed Sara’s new dress before resting a hand on Sara's lower back.

“Come on, let's pay for your dress and head back to the dorm.”

“We don't have to, Aves. I'm okay,” Sara protested.

“I know, but I'm tired and could use some food. I'll just come back some other time and buy a suit.”

Ava nudged Sara forward gently to get her to start walking and stop any other protest. She _was_ hungry, the fact that Sara looked like she had at least a bad headache was just one of the reasons for cutting their trip short.

 

When they got back to their dorm, Sara was quick to throw herself into her bed, not even bothering to take her shoes off. Ava shook her head and went through the process of taking her own shoes off before fishing her phone out so she could order them food — Sara didn't look like she was getting up any time soon.

“Chinese or Italian?”

There was no response. Ava frowned and walked back towards Sara’s bed, only to find her roommate fast asleep. She considered waking her up but decided against it. Ava pulled Sara's shoes off and covered her so she would be comfortable before going to sit at her desk. She ordered the food, going with Sara's usual choices, and then settled back to work.

 

The food had long since gone cold, and Ava had already eaten her share and was almost finishing her work, when Sara stirred.

“What time is it?” Sara asked, voice thick with sleep.

“Almost eight o'clock. Are you feeling better?”

“Damn, I slept that long?” Sara sat up with slow movements. “I'm fine, just needed to rest I guess.”

“I got you food but it's cold by now.”

“Oh, thanks Aves.” Sara got up and Ava frowned at the way she was carrying herself. “I'll just go heat that up.”

Ava watched as Sara left the room with the food container, feeling like something was wrong with her but not sure what. Sara came back a few minutes later, mouth stuffed with food. Ava smiled fondly and pulled out a chair for her so she could sit at the table with her.

“How's the food?” Ava asked after Sara had settled down next to her.

“Great, you're the best fake girlfriend ever.”

Ava cursed herself mentally at how her heart still jumped every time Sara called her her girlfriend, even when it was accompanied by “fake”.

“I try.” Ava looked down at her textbook to avoid Sara's eyes.

“Laurel wants in on our group chat with your sister, by the way.”

“What? Why?”

Sara shrugged. “I dunno.”

Ava was about to ask more questions but Sara started coughing, distracting her from the conversation. She pushed her water bottle towards Sara and watched as she tried to drink between coughs.

“I'm fine,” Sara said quickly, voice tight. “My throat is just a little sore, it's nothing.”

Ava wasn't sure she believed it but nodded. “I should finish this.”

“Sure, nerd.”

 

The next morning, Ava woke up with Sara coughing from her side of the room. She turned around, rubbing sleep from her eyes to see Sara’s face, red from coughing.

“Sara?” she called.

“Aves? Sorry I woke you up, just a sore throat.”

Ava grabbed her phone on the nightstand and checked the time, sighing when she realized her alarm would go off in a few minutes. “It's okay, I have to get up anyways. Early class.”

Ava got up and started to go through her morning routine. Once in a while Sara would cough a little, and Ava was starting to get worried. She approached Sara's bed and went to rest a hand on her forehead only to have Sara push her hand away.

“I'm fine.”

“You don't sound fine, let me check if you have a fever.”

Sara pulled the covers over her head. “No. I'm fine, go to class.”

Ava rolled her eyes but went back to her morning routine before she could be late for her class.

 

The teacher dismissed the class and Ava almost didn't notice, she had been distracted the whole morning worrying about Sara. She did not believe her friend was _fine,_ and was feeling a little guilty for leaving her alone. Ava made a couple of quick stops on her way back to her dorm, her worry getting the best of her anxiety, so much so that she completely forgot she had a phone and could text Sara.

When she got back to the room, Sara was still in bed, barely looking like she had moved at all except for the water bottle on the nightstand.

“Hey, you're back early.” Sara’s voice was slightly hoarse.

“Yeah, I bought food,” Ava said, putting the bags she was carrying on her bed. “And meds.”

“Meds? Wh…”

Ava shook her head and sat down on Sara’s bed, putting a finger to her lips to keep her from protesting. “Don't say you're fine, you're clearly not. You've been coughing all night and you haven't gotten out of bed at all today, that's not like you. Just eat the soup I got you and take the cough syrup, okay?”

Sara opened her mouth looking very much like she was going to argue but then just nodded. “Fine.” Ava handed her the soup and a spoon quickly before she changed her mind. “At least I have a hot nurse taking care of me.”

Ava was so flustered by the comment — even though she should be used to it by now — that she almost dropped her own food. She made a move to get up and put some distance between them when Sara put a hand on her thigh.

“Stay here? I was thinking of watching some comfort show.”

"You're going to get your germs all over me," Ava complained. Despite her words, however, she relaxed next to Sara, no longer wanting to move away. Sara made room for her so they could sit side by side while Ava grabbed the laptop. A few minutes later they had One Day at a Time on and were quietly eating their lunch.

“Hey, Aves?” Sara said suddenly. “Thanks for the food and… this.”

“You're welcome.” Ava smiled, heart skipping in that familiar way when Sara smiled back.

 

Sara ended up falling asleep on her shoulder not even halfway through the second episode. Ava’s hand moved to stroke her hair of its own volition as a fond smile made its way onto her lips. She let the episodes run in the background, only half paying attention to the screen. When the time came for her afternoon class, she didn’t have the heart to leave Sara alone again, electing to stay in their dorm instead.

She was almost nodding off herself when Sara’s sudden cough made her wide awake. Without thinking she jumped up from the bed, only just saving the laptop before it traveled to the floor. Sara groaned, turning sleepy, confused eyes on Ava.

“You, Miss I’m-not-sick, almost had a coughing fit on me,” she said, scrunching up her face. Just because she couldn’t bring herself to leave Sara’s side, didn’t mean she wanted to get sick. Ava quickly started unbuttoning her shirt, not wanting Sara’s sick germs on her. When she saw Sara’s eyes following the movement of her fingers, she was grateful she had put on a tank that morning.

“Rude,” Sara said, voice even hoarser than earlier. Ava only rolled her eyes as she grabbed something from her desk and rejoined Sara on the bed, keeping a few inches of space between them.

“Let me take your temperature,” she ordered, pointing a thermometer at Sara. Sara narrowed her eyes at it, causing Ava to raise one of her eyebrows. “Sara, please, you look hot—” Sara wiggled her eyebrows at her— “and I’m worried about you.” Sara sighed, then nodded, inching closer to Ava. Ava couldn’t help a smile at the action.

“Do you think if I call Henry and tell him I’m sick he’ll send me cookies?” Ava couldn’t help a smile and a shake of her head at Sara’s words.

 

A few days later, Ava deemed Sara well enough that she could go out for a few errands and leave Sara alone. Sara's friends dropped by unannounced to check up on her, so Ava felt less guilty for leaving her while she was sick.

“Don't worry, Ava!” Ray said just as she stepped outside. “We'll take care of her!”

Ava wasn't sure she believed him but at least Amaya was there, she was usually the responsible one, which was why Ava was surprised when she got a call from a very drunk Sara a few hours later.

_“Can you pick me up? I can't drive because I had a few drinks.”_

Ava shook her head — Sara didn't even own a car.

“Where are you, Sara?”

_“At a bar? I'm with Mick but I want to go home.”_

Ava couldn't help but smile fondly, drunk Sara could be adorable sometimes. “I know Sara, but which bar?”

There were some mumbled words and something that sounded suspiciously like Mick ordering more beers before Sara finally yelled the address and the phone went dead. Ava stared at her phone for a second, Sara smiling at her from her background, and shook her head, barely believing this was her life now.

 

Ava sighed as she exited her car. She had tried sending Sara a message and calling but neither had seemed to reach her, so Ava supposed she would have to go find her herself. She gingerly entered the bar, hoping to find Sara quickly so she could leave as soon as possible. She reached for her phone, thinking she would try to call Sara again, when she felt arms wrap around her waist and a warm body push into her back. Ava froze, getting ready to wrestle herself away from the body, when she heard a familiar hum behind herself.

“You’re here!” Sara’s familiar voice said excitedly, the arms around her waist pulling her closer.

“I am,” Ava confirmed, grabbing one of Sara’s hands with her own to pry it off her stomach so she could turn around. As she did, Sara turned her hand around to properly hold onto Ava’s, the arm still around Ava’s waist sliding to rest on her lower back. Sara smiled brightly at her, and despite the shitty bar lighting, Sara looked like an angel. “Will Mick require a driver?” Ava asked, tearing her eyes away from Sara’s perfect face.

Sara scrunched up her face and threw a look over her shoulder. “No…” she said, a look of concentration on her face. “He wanted to stay.” Sara nodded along with her words, a pleased expression on her face at remembering.

“Right. Come on, let’s get you home.” Sara nodded again at Ava’s words. “Sara?” Ava asked when Sara only stood there.

“Hmm?”

“I can’t move with your hand on my back.”

“Right.” Sara sighed and started sliding her hand back around Ava’s waist, before she smirked. Her hand switched directions, moving downwards instead of to the side. Right before the hand could reach low enough, Ava quickly moved her free hand behind herself, locking it around Sara’s waist. Sara pouted as Ava pulled the hand off herself and moved it in between their bodies.

“The car’s right outside,” Ava said, already moving towards the exit, pulling Sara by the hand with her.

 

The car ride back to their dorm was mostly uneventful, with Sara talking about the most random things in adorable drunk rants. Ava just let her talk, not really knowing how to respond or even keep up with the change in subjects, and still not over what had happened inside the bar. When they finally got home, she half carried Sara to their room and let her fall down onto her bed. Sara seemed happy to lay face down and fully clothed, but Ava knew she was going to be sore the next day if she slept like that, so she pulled Sara into a more comfortable position and proceed to take her shoes off. Sara mumbled something, watching Ava sleepily as she finished making her more comfortable.

“You forgot the pants,” Sara said.

“What?”

“I don't like wearing pants to bed.”

Ava only barely held in a sigh — the universe really couldn't give her a break. She quickly started to undress Sara, trying hard to keep her eyes from wandering. As soon as the pants came off, Ava threw the comforter onto Sara's legs before folding the pants and putting the shoes away.  Sara snuggled down into the comforter, and she looked so adorable Ava was powerless to resist the urge to properly tuck her in. She pulled the covers up to Sara's neck, smiling fondly when Sara blinked sleepily up at her.

“Good night, Sara.” She bent down and pressed a kiss to Sara's forehead, not really knowing why, just giving into the urge.

“You missed,” Sara said, opening her eyes.

“What?”

“You missed.”

Before Ava could ask what she was talking about, Sara's hand wrapped around her neck and pulled Ava closer, pressing their lips together in a sweet kiss. Ava's lips were tingling when she pulled back and she had to remind herself not to kiss Sara again — they _weren't_ dating.

“Sara, what…?”

Sara was already sleeping, breath evened out, and couldn't offer any explanations for her behavior.

“Probably just too drunk,” Ava said to herself, shaking her head.

 

A few days later everyone was gathered at Amaya and Zari’s place. Once the group had heard that Sara and Ava were going to a wedding, they had all been convinced that the two of them would elope not soon after, and therefore they had to spend some quality time together first.

Ava had volunteered to help Amaya bring out some snacks, and was currently in the process of bringing a full tray to the living room. When she was almost there, her foot caught on a chair and she momentarily lost balance, making the tray wobble. She managed to catch her balance before the tray went crashing into the ground, but a pack of cookies at the very edge of it wasn’t so lucky, falling off the tray at the last second.

“Fuck me,” Ava muttered, putting the tray down on the chair she had tripped on before she crouched. She just barely caught Sara jumping up from the couch, a mischievous smile on her lips. Ava reached a hand down for the cookies, but her gaze was transfixed on Sara. “That, uh, wasn’t an invitation.”

Sara’s smile remained on her lips as she crouched in front of Ava and brushed their fingers together. She leaned closer, so close Ava could feel her breath, and lowered her eyes to Ava’s lips. Ava’s tongue unconsciously wet her lips as she felt her heart race in her chest.

“Tempting,” Sara said, leaning just a little closer, “but we’re in front of people, babe.” Sara’s hand closed around the pack of cookies, and a second later she was back on her feet, walking back towards the couch as if nothing had happened.

Ava let out a long breath as she slowly got back to her feet and picked the tray back up. _Just a few more days,_ she told herself. She just had to make it until after the wedding and she would no longer have to deal with the confusion Sara’s closeness brought her.


	9. Chapter 9

Ava was fidgeting awkwardly with the sleeve of her jacket — she couldn't help but feel anxious as they waited for Sara and Allie to finish getting ready. Allie had dragged Sara into her room so they could do makeup, and Ava couldn't help but worry about what her twin could be talking about with Sara. She was also anxious about showing up at the wedding in something other than a dress, even though she felt really great wearing it and Joe and Allie had been very enthusiastic in their approval of it. 

Her father finally emerged from his room in a dark suit and a grey tie that matched his salt and pepper hair nicely. “Wow cookie, you look so beautiful!” he said, resting a hand on Ava's shoulder to look her over. 

Ava smiled. “You look really good too, dad.”

“Of course I do!” He winked. “Now, where's your sister and your girlfriend?”

“Doing makeup,” Joe mumbled from his place on the couch. “It's been 84 years.”

“Stop being so dramatic, we're ready!” Allie said, entering the living room. She had on a blue dress that showed off her legs and shoulders, and she almost looked overdressed. 

“Thank god!” Joe said in a fake exasperated tone. 

Allie rolled her eyes and went to him. Ava completely missed whatever it was she said next because at that moment Sara came into view and nothing else mattered. She had seen Sara in the dress at the store but nothing could have prepared her for the full look and how it would make her forget to breathe at the sight. The red dress fit Sara perfectly, showing off her curves. Her shoes were also red, and her hair was in a complicated updo with braids that made it look like a halo. 

“Close your mouth Ava!” Allie said, snickering. 

Ava knew she was probably blushing, but she couldn't find in her to care when Sara looked  _ like that.  _

Sara’s eyes widened as she took Ava in, and Ava suddenly felt self conscious again under her gaze. “Aves, when did you even get a tux!” Sara said, stepping closer to her. She touched Ava's arm gently, looking her up and down. “You look so  _ fucking  _ good!”

“Yeah?” Ava asked almost shyly — the almost awe like look in Sara's eyes was doing  _ things  _ to her. 

“So good! I told you we would be the hottest couple at this wedding, you clearly took it to the next level.” Sara touched her bowtie, smiling appreciatively. 

“Oh God, let's go before these two decide to have sex right here!” Allie said, pulling her boyfriend towards the door. 

Henry chuckled. “You two do look amazing,” he said, holding the door open for them. 

He closed the door after them. Sara and the others were already by the car, but Henry held Ava back. 

“Everything okay?” Ava asked when she noticed his serious look. 

“Yeah, yes. I'm just being an old fool,” he said, smiling almost in a bittersweet way. He touched her bowtie, fixing it slightly even though Ava was pretty sure there was nothing to fix. “I'm really proud of you Ava, you know that right?”

“I… yes? Why are you saying that?”

Henry shook his head. “I'm just proud of you for being yourself.” He kissed her cheek sweetly.  “I can't wait to be doing this at your wedding.”

Ava couldn't do anything but watch as he walked to the car, heart physically hurting at the thought that he would find out her relationship with Sara was a lie. She joined the others in the car, squeezing herself next to Sara, who immediately grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Ava turned away to look at the passing cars, trying hard to focus on anything other than her current situation. 

 

Rose welcomed them into the wedding venue with an excited smile, making sure the photographer got a picture of them all right at the door, before ushering them inside. Ava tried to just relax and greet people, but she felt like everyone was staring at her, judging her because of her choice of attire. Sara slipped her hand in Ava’s, intertwining their fingers like they did this every day. 

“Come on, girlfriend, let's find somewhere to sit,” Sara said with a wink. 

Ava almost immediately felt herself relax, she knew Sara had her back and wouldn't stand for anyone saying anything negative about her. 

The ceremony was just the usual hetero thing, and Ava couldn't say she paid much attention to any of it. Sara sat really close to her and played with Ava's hair for most of the ceremony, which just made focusing that much more distracting. After it was over, they headed to where the reception was going to be, Sara thankfully stuck to her side. 

“Finally!” Allie said, bumping into them. “This was really boring, thank God we can go eat and get drunk now. Also! Gotta show your girlfriend off, Ava!”

Sara chuckled. “Let's go do that then.”

They found a table with no problems, and Allie quickly got them all drinks. 

“So, you are the girlfriend we heard so much about.” 

“Hi, auntie Carol!” Allie said, getting up to greet the newcomer. 

The older woman hugged her, and Ava got up to do the same. 

“God, every time I see you two I feel like you’ve grown a few inches!” their aunt said. “And you, Ava! You look so handsome!”

Ava smiled down at her aunt. “Thanks, auntie.” She touched Sara's shoulder gently. “This is Sara.”

“Rose has been talking about you non stop.”

Sara smiled, all charm and swagger. Ava felt the familiar flutter in her stomach at the sight. Her aunt looked completely smitten too — apparently Sara's charms worked on all Sharpes. Someone dragged her aunt away before Ava could rejoin the conversation, and she sat back down, silently scolding herself for being so distracted. 

A few more relatives dropped by to talk to them, and Ava was surprised at how less awkward they were now that she was “dating” someone. Sara had turned the full charm on, and would easily change the subject if she felt like Ava was getting uncomfortable. Ava felt a pang, realizing soon she wouldn't have Sara with her on the next family gatherings. 

“Everyone's a little bit in love with you already, how do you do that?” Allie asked Sara. 

“Natural charm.” Sara smiled smugly. 

Ava shook her head, a barely concealed smile on her lips. She couldn't deny that was true. They ate, drank, and judged people — that was mostly Allie and Joe — and Ava found she was actually having a nice time. 

“Hey, Aves, let's go dance!” Sara said, getting up and offering her hand. 

“I'm not really much of a dancer,” Ava said, even though she automatically accepted Sara's hand. 

“It's just swaying! Nothing complicated.” Sara smiled, pulling Ava towards the dance floor. “Don't worry, I've got you.”

Sara pulled Ava close once they reached a good enough place that wasn't too crowded. Sara rested both her hands on Ava's waist while Ava wrapped her arms around Sara's neck. They started to sway gently with the music, and Ava was very aware of how close they were — she could feel Sara's breath on her neck, every place their bodies touched felt like it was burning. As the minutes passed, she managed to relax a little — the drinks she had had helping with that. 

Sara smiled softly up at her, before she pulled her even closer so she could rest her head right below Ava’s shoulder. Ava could only pray she didn’t hear her elevated heart rate. They continued swaying gently to the music, and Ava allowed her own eyes to close, breathing in Sara’s smell. She moved her hand slightly until she could feel the bare skin of Sara’s neck under her fingers. Without giving it much thought, her fingers started rubbing small, slow circles into Sara’s skin. Sara hummed against her chest at the action, nuzzling her head against Ava. Ava thought she could stay like that forever, Sara pressed up against her with soft music playing in the background, feeling like the two of them were the only two people in the room.

“Everything as bad as you imagined it’d be?” Sara asked, drawing Ava’s thoughts back to the party.

“Hmm,” Ava said, pretending to think it over. “It’s a little crowded, and I’m having to talk to people I barely even know,” she said, scrunching up her face, before softening it. “But I can’t complain about the current company.”

Sara chuckled as she pulled her head back from Ava’s chest. Ava didn’t think she had ever seen a smile brighter than the one Sara offered her, her eyes sparkling in the room’s lighting. 

“Charmer,” Sara said, throwing her eyes to the ground before once more meeting Ava’s. “I bet you say that to all the girls you take to weddings.”

“Considering that count is a grand total of one, I guess the numbers back up your statement.”

“Nerd,” Sara said, shaking her head slightly.

Ava moved one of her hands to Sara’s face, brushing away some rebellious strands of hair. Her hand automatically came to rest on Sara’s cheek when she was done. Unconsciously, her gaze moved from Sara’s eyes down to her lips, before she forced them back up again. She moved her thumb lightly on Sara’s cheek, and Sara leaned her head further into her hand. Ava’s eyes once more moved down to Sara’s oh so kissable lips. Her thumb moved from Sara’s cheek to her lips, gently brushing her lower lip. Sara’s hands tightened on Ava’s waist as Sara closed her eyes and started ever so slightly leaning up. Ava was just about to lean down to meet her when a hand came into her peripheral view, landing on Sara’s shoulder, making the two jump apart at the sudden intrusion.

“Hey, wanna dance?” the intruder — a man Ava was pretty sure was related to the groom — asked Sara as a new song started playing. Ava had been so wrapped up in Sara she hadn’t even noticed the last one ending.

She let go of Sara and stepped to the side, horrified at what she had almost done and hoping that a dance with someone else would make Sara forget it.

Ava sat back down at their table. Allie and Joe had disappeared somewhere and she was glad to have a few minutes alone. She knew more alcohol was probably a bad idea, but she couldn't keep herself from drinking some more to settle down her nerves. Her heart was beating so fast she was starting to get a little concerned. The notion that she needed to end this whole fake dating situation with Sara was both a relief and a torture that she couldn't keep ignoring when she had almost kissed her for no reason other than that she wanted to. 

“Ava, hello.”

The voice snapped Ava out of her thoughts, and she only barely kept a displeased sigh from coming out. She had been avoiding this particular relative all night, and the second she let her guard down, she found her. 

“Hi.”

Ava didn't like to be rude to people but this woman just brought that out in almost everyone. 

“I heard you finally have a date, I was starting to get worried. We didn't want you ending up as an old maid.” Aunt Ophelia smiled sweetly, and Ava had a sudden urge to punch her. “Where's the boyfriend, then? I would like to meet him.”

Ava took a deep breath, she knew some homophobic comment was coming but it was still irritating. She had been out to the family since she was around fourteen, and there was no way Ophelia had forgotten. Ava was considering just making a break for it and disappearing somewhere when she felt a strong arm wrapping around her waist, Sara's floral perfume enveloping her senses. 

“Hey, that would be me. Although, I prefer girlfriend,” Sara said sweetly. “I'm Sara, nice to meet you.”

Ava smiled at the look of shock on Aunt Ophelia's face, she was clearly not expecting such a direct answer, nor for Sara to actually show up. The woman scrunched up her face in displeasure and just walked away without another word, which Ava was immensely thankful for. 

“That was great, she almost had an aneurysm,” Ava said, grinning down at Sara.

“Hey, this is part of the girlfriend package! Just doing my job.” Sara winked, pulling away. “I'm going to grab a drink, be right back.”

Ava got back into her chair still smiling, Sara always seemed to know how to help her. After a few minutes, Sara still hadn't come back to the table, and Ava started to look around, a little worried. Sara could definitely take care of herself, but Ava would rather not leave her alone with her relatives for too long, who knew what kind of things they would ask her. She located Sara by her blonde hairdo and was surprised to see her having an animated conversation with her Aunt Carol. Ava watched them for a few minutes, wondering if she should go join them, already missing Sara beside her. Before she could make up her mind, though, the same guy who had asked Sara to dance before approached them. Ava frowned as Sara laughed and touched his arm while he smiled, pleased. Something unpleasant twisted inside Ava as she realized she knew that look on Sara's face, flirty and open. 

Ava was barely aware of having gotten up when she found herself walking towards the exit. She took a deep breath of the night's air, slowly letting whatever feelings had surfaced fade away. Sara was free to flirt with anyone she wanted, they weren't really dating, there was no reason for Ava to get so worked up. Except a huge part of her wanted Sara to be flirting  _ with her,  _ and had been for a while. 

“She's not interested in you like that, Ava, just let it go,” she whispered to herself before heading back inside. 

Sara was back at their table, and the random guy whose name she didn’t know was there with her, drinking from a beer bottle. 

“Hey, Aves, there you are! I brought you one of those drinks you like,” Sara said once she joined them. “Me and Chris are going back onto the dance floor, if that's okay.”

“Of course. Thanks for the drink.”

Sara pressed a quick kiss to Ava's cheek before pulling the guy into the dancefloor with her while Ava just stared after them, heart beating way too fast. She watched as Sara spinned around with a laugh, and felt her heart squeeze painfully. She had to break up with Sara as soon as they got back to their dorm, she couldn't keep holding Sara back like that. Ava didn't think she could handle being so close to her, touching her, and pretend it meant nothing anymore. Seeing Sara looking good and having fun with someone else was just what Ava needed to remind herself that all of this was fake, and to stop the small beam of hope that would surface once in awhile that Sara might be into her. She was going to end this tonight and deal with the consequences later. 

Ava couldn’t take watching them anymore, couldn’t take watching Sara be happy with someone else. She stood up from her table, to go where she didn’t know, but in her rush to get up she managed to spill what was left of the drink Sara had gotten her on her new tux. She swore under her breath as she made her way to the bathroom, not sparing Sara and Chris another glance.

When she arrived, she was relieved to see all the stalls empty. She braced her hands on the sink and faced her own image in the mirror. The urge to cry hit her out of the blue, and Ava had to clench her jaw not to give in. She counted backwards from ten to try to calm down, then gathered some paper that she wet under the sink. She had just turned the water on when the bathroom door opened, making Ava jump. 

“It’s just me,” Sara said, a hint of amusement in her voice. “Are you okay? You ran off pretty suddenly.”

Ava took a deep breath before she turned around to face her, hoping her face wouldn’t betray her. “I spilled my drink,” she said, scrunching up her face as she gestured to it with the wet paper in her hands, thoughts of her new tux helping keeping her mind off of Sara. 

“Oh,” Sara said, voice almost relieved. “Let me help you.” She stepped closer and took the paper from Ava before she could as much as register it. 

_ This is bad, _ she thought. Sara turned her slightly with a hand on her waist so her back was against the sink, then pushed gently so Ava was leaning on it. It all made Sara be much too close, and Ava didn’t think she could handle it, especially after she had made her decision earlier. 

“Hey, are we okay?” Sara asked, voice small as she gently wiped Ava’s tux. 

“Why wouldn’t we be-“

“I was looking for you earlier, after I got you your drink. I couldn’t find you, I was gonna ask you to dance, and your aunt wanted to say hi — how come you never told me you had a bi aunt?” Ava could barely keep up with Sara’s words, too focused on not doing anything stupid with Sara so close, her hands on Ava, and the mention of a bi aunt confused her more than anything. She would have asked about it, but Sara continued before she got the chance. “Anyway, Chris asked me to dance again and I felt bad saying no, I was going to ask you when the song ended but then you ran here.”

“You’re free to dance with whoever you want, Sara. We’re  _ not _ dating.” Maybe the words came out a bit harsher than intended, but she needed to hear them herself, especially when Sara was acting like this. 

“Oh,” Sara said, brows furrowing as she pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “Of course, I just—“ Voices right outside the bathroom door made Sara stop. The handle was pulled down from the outside, and the next thing Ava knew, she was pulling Sara into her own body, leaning more against the sink as she leaned down and brought their lips together. Maybe it wasn’t the most logical thing to do — Sara had been helping her clean herself up, there wasn’t anything suspicious about that — but Ava didn’t care as Sara wrapped her arms around her and pushed more against her. 

Somewhere, at the back of her mind, a voice told her how bad of an idea this was, but Ava ignored it as she coaxed Sara’s lips open. She should end the kiss, should run far far away, but the realization that this was the last time she would get to kiss her made Ava draw her impossibly closer. She pulled Sara’s upper lip between her own, before she slowly licked into Sara’s mouth, tasting her one final time. She dragged one of her hands down Sara’s spine, and Sara turned to pudding in her hands, for once following Ava’s lead. 

“I  _ told _ you they ran off to make out,” Allie’s sudden voice came. 

Ava was tempted to keep Sara close, to ignore her sister’s presence in favor of continuing the kiss, but instead she loosened her hold on her and pulled her face away. Sara stumbled a little, glossy eyes looking up at Ava as she pulled a kiss swollen lip between her teeth. Ava finally turned her eyes to Allie, and was confused when she found her alone. 

“Who were you talking to?” she asked. 

“Joe,” Allie said, the  _ duh  _ going unsaid. “He’s right outside.”

“You brought your boyfriend just to check if I was kissing my girlfriend?” Ava’s chest hurt at the word, dreading not being able to call Sara that anymore. 

“Yup. Well, no, I actually do have to pee. Please try to keep your hormones in check until I’m done.” Ava sighed as Allie disappeared into one of the booths. 

“We should go back to the party,” she said, looking back down at Sara. Sara’s lip was still between her teeth, and it took all of Ava’s self control not to kiss her again. 

Sara nodded and started pulling away. “Hey, can we talk, when we get home?”

Ava’s heart almost broke for the nth time at Sara’s words. Obviously Sara had come to the same conclusion as Ava and wanted to call this whole thing off sooner rather than later. 

“Of course, we should do that,” she said, as she pulled them back to the party. 

 

Ava had, for some reason, expected Sara to be less affectionate after their agreement. She had been wrong, and getting through the rest of the wedding had been torture. When it was done, her mom had asked them to spend the night there, but they couldn’t exactly break up at her parents’ house, and Ava couldn’t handle another night of having to pretend to be with Sara.

Which brought them back to their dorm, both exhausted after the day. Sara smiled at her, and Ava almost chickened out. But she couldn’t, it would certainly break her if she did. And so, she drew a long breath, preparing for what she had to do. She saw Sara open her mouth to say something, but Ava beat her to it, couldn’t bear the thought of Sara breaking up with her, even if it was all pretend. Getting the words out was one of the hardest things Ava had ever done, and all she could think about was getting away from Sara. She cursed her stupid mouth one last time for getting her into this mess to begin with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How about that ending?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has read and commented. We can't believe we reached the end of this story, it's been a fun ride and we hope you guys enjoyed as much as we did. Hopefully this last chapter will be up to all your expectations!

Sara stuffed her hands in her hoodie's pocket, trying to focus on taking one step at a time and keeping herself from crying. The day  _ really  _ hadn't gone the way she thought it would. She didn't know what to make of what had just happened between her and Ava. Sara blinked, realizing she was in front of Amaya and Zari's apartment. She knocked on the door weakly, already rethinking her plan of coming here but also wanting the comfort of her friends. 

The door opened abruptly and Zari's annoyed face appeared. Her hair was a mess and she was only wearing a long flannel shirt and black underwear. Sara immediately felt bad about interrupting. 

“Sara, what are you…?” Zari stopped suddenly, studying her face. “Hey, what's wrong?”

“Uh, Ava and I just broke up,” Sara said, voice tight. 

“What happened!” Amaya asked concerned, suddenly appearing by the door. “Come on in.”

Sara felt another pang of guilt when she took in Amaya's bathrobe, but her friend just ushered her through the apartment and onto the bed, worry taking over her expression. Zari joined them on her other side after slamming the door shut. 

“What happened?” Amaya asked again in a gentle tone. 

 

_ Sara felt a mix of nerves and excitement and a little alcohol taking over her when they entered their dorm. Ava was quick to discard her jacket, and Sara's heart jumped a little at how beautiful she looked like that. “It's now or never,”  she thought, opening her mouth to confess everything she had been bottling up inside for the past month. Ava beat her to it, though.  _

_ “We need to break up. I mean, fake break up. Stop doing this,” Ava babbled nervously.  _

_ “What?” The word fell from her mouth before she could fully process the meaning of Ava's words.  _

_ “This already went on longer than I expected and it's not fair to either of us to keep it going for much longer,” Ava said, standing perfectly still, hands behind her back. “I'll figure something out to tell my family, they'll probably just be happy I can find someone if I want and won't bother me too much about it in the future. I'm very thankful to you for all your help.” _

_ Sara blinked, brain suddenly having difficulty making sense of words.  _

_ “Are you sure?” was all she could choke it out.  _

_ “Yes.” Ava's tone was final. “I'm heading to Gary's for a bit, I'll see you later.” _

_ Ava grabbed a few clothes and made a quick exit. Sara just stood there, watching the spot she had just vacated, feeling a little lost. They had had such a good time at the wedding that this was the furthest thing from Sara's mind. She had even let herself pretend it was all real and not just a ploy to fool their families into letting them off the hook.  _

_ She pulled her dress off almost aggressively and grabbed the first hoodie and pants she could find before bolting out of the room.  _

 

Sara just recounted what had happened to her friends, briefly forgetting that they didn't know about the whole  _ fake  _ part. 

“What does that even mean?” Zari asked with a confused frown. “I have no idea why you broke up from that.”

Sara sighed, realizing her oversight. “We were never really dating. We were pretending to so Ava's family would chill and stop bothering her about being single.”

“You were  _ what?!”  _ Zari asked loudly. 

Amaya poked her girlfriend in a silent scolding and started to caress Sara's back comfortingly. “What she means is; you weren't dating?”

“No,” Sara said weakly, fighting to keep tears at bay. 

“How were you not dating! The kisses and all the disgusting shows of affection? You two are so in love?” Zari said in complete disbelief. 

“I don't know what to tell you, Z. I thought… I thought there  _ was  _ something there, I was just giving it time, giving Ava time to see if…. well it doesn't matter, Ava ended things and it's clear she doesn't feel the same way."

Sara saw Amaya and Zari having a silent conversation from the corner of her eyes and felt a pang of longing. Hours ago this was her and Ava sharing looks over Allie's head and now… now she had no idea how she could go back to just being friends with Ava. Not after everything they had shared, all the kisses and small moments. Sara got up abruptly and headed for the small fridge where she knew Zari kept the beers for moments like this. She opened a bottle and took a long swig, wanting nothing more than to let the alcohol numb her feelings. 

“Woah, hang on.” Zari jumped up and approached her with quick steps. “You'll be even more miserable tomorrow if you get drunk.”

“I'll be miserable either way, so.” Sara shrugged, already chugging half of the bottle. 

Amaya joined them, resting a gentle hand on Sara's shoulders. “How about you drink lots of water before bed, then you can drink and we can watch something or you can talk it out if you want?”

“Amaya… She should talk to Ava.” 

“That's a talk for tomorrow, it’s late and she's in no state for serious talks,” Amaya said, guiding Sara out of the small kitchen. 

Sara looked around the place, remembering the state her friends were in when she got there. “Actually, I'll just go back to the dorm or something. I didn't mean to interrupt you guys. I'll be fine.”

“Sara, no. You're not interrupting anything. Come on, let's watch something you like.” Amaya pulled her back into the bedroom. “Z will grab you another beer and some snacks, right honey?”

“Sure.”

They all settled into bed, Sara in the middle, and Zari grabbed her laptop so they could watch something. Sara drank her beers and looked at the screen without absorbing anything from whatever it was that they were watching. She couldn't pinpoint exactly when but she was suddenly crying, tears streaming down her face and falling onto her hoodie, and she couldn't stop. Amaya immediately pulled her into a hug, Zari wrapping herself around her on Sara's other side, sandwiching her between them. Their support only made her cry harder, but she let herself go and just accepted the comfort as it was given. She fell asleep still sandwiched between her two friends, movie all but forgotten. 

 

Sara woke up to the smell of coffee and pancakes. She blinked sleepily, confused by the smells and the arm thrown over her waist. 

“Do I smell pancakes?” Zari mumbled next to her. 

The events of the day before came crashing down on Sara and she sighed. Amaya appeared at the foot of the bed and shook her head at them. 

“It's almost lunchtime but I figured Sara deserved a nice breakfast. Now come on, out of the bed you two! We have a lot to do.”

Zari was up and about in a second, the promise of food always a good motivator. Sara took a little longer, she hadn't had that much alcohol so she wasn't hungover, but crying herself to sleep meant she had a small headache. She joined her friends at the table for breakfast and some strong coffee, all of them just eating silently for a while. 

“Do you want to borrow some clothes, Sara?” Amaya asked. 

Sara looked down, trying to remember what she had quickly thrown on the day before, and felt a stab of pain when she realized she had grabbed  _ Ava's  _ hoodie, the high school one that she had stolen. 

“Uh, no. I'm fine.” She would rather hold on to that while she still could. 

“All right, are we talking about it or not?” Zari asked, putting her empty coffee down. 

Amaya nodded once, more to herself than to them. “Sara, honey, I know you think Ava ended things because she doesn't feel the same way, but you never really told her what  _ you  _ feel. She might be in the same situation.”

“I— I dropped so many hints. Hell, I'm pretty sure I was more than obvious some times. She just doesn't feel the same guys.”

Zari shook her head. “Sara, we've literally watched you two flirt and kiss disgustingly way too many times for you to say that.”

“She's right. And even if Ava doesn't feel the same, isn't it better to ask her directly and have your answer?”

Sara bit her lip, a part of her fighting against the small beam of hope her friends' words were creating. “I…”

“Come on, let's get you back to your dorm so you can talk to her properly,” Amaya said. 

“As in just say what you feel directly,” Zara added. “Ava clearly can't pick up on hints.” Zari sighed when all Sara did was look at them skeptically. "Look, it turns out, at the end of the day, love is worth the risk," she said, glancing over at Amaya.

Sara sighed. She thought about the way Ava kissed her in the bathroom at the wedding — their very last kiss. “Yeah, I guess it's worth a try.”

 

Ava was not at their door room, her bed didn't even look slept in. Her suit jacket was thrown in the same way it had been the night before. Logically Sara knew she wouldn't be there — Ava had said she was going to Gary's — but she was too lost in her own head to think that far ahead when they left. They headed to Gary's next, certain Ava would be there. Sara's thoughts were a jumbled mess and it was hard to focus on anything, so she almost didn't notice when they arrived there. 

“There's no one here,” Zari announced. “Gimme your phone.”

Sara just handed her the phone, too tired to care why she needed it. Amaya hugged Sara around the shoulders and Sara leaned into her, glad that her friends were with her. 

“Okay, let's go! I know where they are,” Zari said, already starting to walk away from Gary's dorm room. 

“Where?” Amaya asked, pulling Sara with her. 

“You'll see. We're gonna need your car.”

 

Some time later, Sara was sitting in the back of Amaya's car, watching the road. She hadn't paid much attention when Zari said where there were going, too busy trying to figure out what she was going to tell Ava when they met. She was nervous, and not used to feeling that way. Usually she could just bullshit her way through most things, but this was too important for that. Plus she needed to be honest. Sara didn't know if she could handle another rejection though. She didn't think she had ever liked anyone as much as she did Ava. 

“We're almost there according to Gary,” Amaya said. 

Sara  _ really _ looked at the streets they were driving through and went cold.  _ That was the Sharpes neighborhood. _ She hadn't thought she would need to face them again. They probably hated her for breaking their daughter's heart out of the blue, after they had had such a good time at the wedding. Maybe Ava hadn't even told them, which could be worse since Sara felt like crying just thinking about Ava. 

“We're here. That's Ava's car, isn't it?” Zari asked. 

Sara didn't even have to look, she knew this driveway. “I don't think this is a good idea.”

“You need this, Sara,” Amaya said gently. “But we're not going to force you to go inside.”

“Hell yeah we are! Gary said there were cookies and I need to pee!” Zari said, opening the door and jumping out. 

Sara hesitated, but got out of the car, watching as Zari rang the bell. A few seconds later, Henry poked his head out, almost immediately zeroing in on Sara. To her surprise, he didn't look mad or disappointed, just gave her a small smile before pulling the door fully open and going back inside. Gary appeared a second later with the most serious face Sara had ever seen on him. 

“I'll go get her,” he said, before rushing away. 

Sara pushed her hands inside the hoodie's pockets, heart beating faster in anticipation. They heard a disgruntled meow before Cupcake passed through the hallway and disappeared from view. Gary came back, pulling a grumpy Ava with him — Sara knew she was grumpy by the way she was walking, dragging her feet, her jaw set. Sara's heart skipped at the sight of her, her hair in a messy bun in a way she had never seen on Ava, dark sweatpants and a ratty old shirt that looked a little too small, showing Ava's stomach a little. 

“Sara? What…?”

“We'll leave you two to talk,” Zari said. “You said something about cookies…?”

Gary nodded eagerly and invited Amaya and Zari inside, pushing Ava out before closing the door and leaving Sara and Ava alone. Sara stood there just watching Ava for a moment — she looked tired, bloodshot eyes and everything. Ava crossed her arms and stepped forward, putting some space between herself and the door. She stared expectantly at Sara. 

“Hi,” was all Sara managed to choke out, her voice hoarse. 

“Hi.” The tiniest hint of a smile appeared on Ava's lips. 

Sara just kind of stood there and stared for a moment, forgetting everything she had tried to practice on the way over. 

“Sara, why are you here?” Ava asked after the silence stretched too long. 

“I dunno, I…” She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. “No, that's a lie, I know why I'm here. I just don't know how to tell you.”

Ava didn't say anything, patiently waiting for Sara to keep talking. The wind started to pick up and Sara was suddenly aware that Ava was only wearing a very thin shirt and that  _ she _ was wearing  _ Ava's  _ hoodie. 

“Ava,  I… I thought we were doing good, you know? I thought— I thought you liked me.” Sara licked her lips, mouth dry from how nervous she felt. “I just. I like you Ava, and I thought you liked me too.”

A small drop of rain fell on Sara's head but she didn't even notice, too focused on Ava, who had stepped a little closer to her and was watching her with a confused look. 

“I do like you and we are doing good,” Ava said, still looking confused. 

Sara sighed. “No, I mean  _ really  _ like you. In a gay way. In an ‘I want to be your real girlfriend’ way.”

Ava opened her mouth but nothing came out. Sara's heart was hammering in her chest, and nothing else mattered in that moment but Ava's face and whatever she was going to say. A few more droplets of rain fell on her but Sara just couldn't pay any mind to anything else. 

“Oh,” Ava finally said. “But you… You were flirting with that guy…”

“Who?” Sara frowned. “Oh, the wedding guy? Harmless flirting Aves, he's gay and married! He just wanted someone to dance with and he figured he could take the gay girls dancing without them thinking he was hitting on them.”

“He is?”  Ava sounded so shocked and confused that Sara couldn't help but think she was adorable. She walked the rest of the way to where Ava was and stopped just before she could invade her personal space. 

“Yeah,” Sara said, almost forgetting to what she was agreeing when she was this close to Ava. “I thought I was being obvious. About how much I like you.” She paused and took a deep breath. “No, I love you, Ava. The time I spent as your girlfriend was the happiest I've ever felt. I've always thought I couldn't do relationships at all but it's easy with you.”

Ava blinked down at her, the rain was falling slightly heavier now, darkening Ava's hair. “You love me?”  The question was said so softly Sara wouldn't have heard it if they weren't standing so close. 

“Yes, Ava, I do,” Sara said firmly, trying to sound confident. “And I get it if you don't feel the same, I guess I just really needed to say it out loud…”

Sara stopped talking when Ava suddenly moved forward, hands grabbing Sara's face and pulling her close. Their lips met in a hungry kiss. Sara was startled at Ava's intensity for a second, but was soon meeting her with just as much passion. She wrapped her arms around Ava’s waist, pulling her closer as she pushed up onto her toes to kiss Ava harder. One of Ava’s thumbs moved to her chin, pressing down slightly. Sara smiled against her as she let her lips fall open, welcoming Ava’s tongue between them. The rain had taken up force without them noticing, and even as they got all wet, Sara's hair sticking to her face and neck, they paid it no mind, too wrapped up in each other to care. 

“I love you too,” Ava breathed in between kisses. “The only reason I ended things was because I thought you didn't like me like _ that _ .”

“Oh my god, Ava, do you really make out with all your friends as much as we have because you're not into them?” Sara smirked, pressing a kiss to Ava's jaw. 

“We were supposed to be  _ dating _ !” Ava huffed indignantly. 

Before Sara could give a reply or kiss her again, the door opened.

“Have you guys made up yet? ‘Maya’s starting to get worried you’ll both get sick.” Zari’s voice conveyed a small amount of annoyance, but the glint in her eyes told Sara she had seen everything she needed to see.

“One second,” Sara sighed, waving Zari away. She didn’t need to look at her to know she was rolling her eyes as she left them, door still open. “Hey, Aves?” she whispered, her full attention back on Ava.

“Yeah?” Ava replied, a small, soft smile on her lips.

“Be my girlfriend?” Sara held her breath at the question, somehow still terrified of being rejected.

“Yes!” Ava grinned, leaning down to catch Sara’s lips in another kiss. “On one condition,” she said, pulling back slightly.

“What?” Sara asked, heart beating faster.

“We get out of this rain,” Ava said with a smile, resting her forehead against Sara’s.

“Deal,” Sara chuckled, leaning up to kiss Ava one last time, before rejoining the others.

As soon as they entered the house, Rose appeared with towels and clean clothes for both of them. Sara wasn’t particularly eager to get out of Ava’s hoodie, but with Ava next to her she supposed she would be able to deal. Rose gave them both a hug, before making way for Henry to do the same. When the hugs had been given, Henry held Sara back, motioning for Ava to go ahead and get warm. Ava looked skeptical about leaving Sara alone with him, but Sara gave her a reassuring smile that made her leave, though she was still hesitant. Sara dreaded what Henry might want her alone for, but whatever it was, she knew she deserved it.

“So, you two made up?” he asked, his face warm and smiling.

“We did,” Sara said, smiling at the spot Ava had disappeared from.

“Good,” Henry said, clapping a hand on her shoulder. “Ava’s happy with you, and you’re a wonderful girl, it would be a shame to lose you from the family.” Henry’s smile fell from his face as his features grew more serious. “That being said, if you ever send my Cookie crying to my doorstep again, we will have a problem on our hands.”

“Yes, sir,” Sara said, voice only slightly trembling. She held her breath as Henry continued to look at her with a serious expression. After a few seconds, Henry’s face softened again, and the smile returned as he pulled Sara into another hug, longer this time. Sara exhaled slowly, amazed at how quickly Ava’s parents had forgiven her.

“You're also welcome to come here so we can kick Ava's ass if necessary, okay?” He smiled, squeezing her shoulder. 

Sara nodded, touched at the fondness she could see in his eyes. 

“Good, now go get cleaned up, there are cookies to eat!”

As Sara walked through the hallways, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She quickly fished it out, relieved to find it in one piece despite the rain soaking her clothes just moments before. She saw a new text from Laurel and opened it curiously.

**From Best Sister In The World:** _ SARA LANCE WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO _

**From Best Sister In The World:** _ Allie texted me _

**From Best Sister In The World:** _ Are you okay? _

**From Best Sister In The World:** _ Sara please answer me _

Sara cursed at not having seen her sister’s messages from hours before, too wrapped up in her sadness to even think about checking it. She was relieved to see Zari had answered her when she had had Sara’s phone earlier.

**To Best Sister In The World:** _ She’s a mess but ‘maya and I are fixing it! _

**To Best Sister In The World:** _ I’m zari btw nice to meet u gotta go save ur idiot sister’s love life _

Sara rolled her eyes at Zari’s choice of words, but she supposed she wasn’t wrong. She took a deep breath as she read the newest message.

**From Best Sister In The World:** _ Did you fix it yet? _

**To Best Sister In The World:** _ We did, Ava and I are good again, like really good, like she’s my girlfriend, for real this time _

Sara couldn’t help a grin as she wrote the words, she still hadn’t fully processed that they were actually together.

**To Best Sister In The World:** _ I’ll call you later, okay? We’re at Ava’s parents’ house _

Just as she hit send, the door to the bathroom opened and Ava emerged, wearing new sweats and a hoodie that seemed a little too big on her and was probably her father's.

“Hey,” Ava giggled, stepping closer to her.

“Hey,” Sara responded, reaching a hand out for one of Ava’s. She pulled the hand up to her lips and placed soft kisses on its knuckles. “Wait for me?” she asked, releasing Ava’s hand as she walked backward towards the open bathroom door.

Sara was quick to dry herself and get into the clean, warm clothes, just slightly too long for her, eager to get back to Ava. When she exited the bathroom, Ava was in the exact same spot she’d left her, eyes trained on the door. She looked relieved when Sara appeared, as if she had been worried she wouldn’t.

“You look cute in my clothes,” Ava said, eyes taking Sara in.

Sara smiled as she closed the distance between them, settling her hands on Ava’s waist when she was close enough. Ava’s hands cupped her face as Sara leaned up on her toes to kiss her. She swore she meant for the kiss to be short, but as Ava pressed herself against her, Sara found herself lost in the kiss. 

“We should go to the others,” Ava said, before Sara could deepen the kiss. 

“Fine,” Sara pouted, stealing one more kiss before she pulled away. 

The first thing Sara noticed when they rejoined the others was Zari and Henry deep in conversation, a plate full of cookies in front of them. She shook her head fondly as she pushed Ava onto the couch so she could sit on her lap. In that moment, just as Ava tightened her hold around her waist, she had never been more grateful for her friends. 

She smiled to herself at the thought that she could just casually sit on Ava's lap now just because she felt like it. Rose brought them hot cocoa, and everyone spread around the room to enjoy their beverages. They were all engaged in their own conversations for a while. Sara was content to just sip her drink, enjoying how it warmed her from the inside. 

“Now that you're back together we can talk about weddings, right?” Rose asked happily. 

Sara almost choked, and Ava  _ did _ choke, if the coughing that followed was any indication. 

“Honey, they have just made up. I'm sure this can wait at least a week.”

Sara blinked at Henry, startled, not sure if he was serious or not. She heard Ava mutter something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like “Oh god, not again.” Sara turned a little so she could see Ava's face, smiling softly at her girlfriend. 

“You know, last time your parents bugged you too much about something you ended up with a hot girlfriend, so I guess it can't be that bad, right?” she said quietly, almost a whisper. 

Ava rolled her eyes, a big smile on her face. “I guess not.”

Sara couldn't, didn't  _ want  _ to, resist cupping Ava’s face with her free hand, pressing their lips together in a sweet kiss. Even with all the confusion and heartache, Sara didn’t think she would change anything about what had happened as long as it ended with Ava smiling, her soft blue eyes staring with joy at her. Nothing else mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, that's all folks! We hope y'all had as much fun with this as we did! Stay tuned for more stories from us (maybe a few one shots in this verse even👀)

**Author's Note:**

> Find us on tumblr [@fvandomtrvsh](http://fvandomtrvsh.tumblr.com/) and [@wardenroot](http://wardenroot.tumblr.com/)


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